Reid Highway
| Reid Highway Western Australia | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Map of Perth's central suburbs with Reid Highway highlighted in red | |
| General information | |
| Type | Highway |
| Length | 23.6 km (15 mi) |
| Opened | 1980s |
| Route number(s) |
 State Route 3 |
| Major junctions | |
| West end |
 Marmion Avenue (State Route 71), North Beach |
| |
| East end |
 Roe Highway (National Highway 95 / State Route 3), Middle Swan |
| Location(s) | |
| Major suburbs | Balcatta, Mirrabooka, Malaga, Beechboro, Caversham |
Reid Highway is a 23 kilometre east-west highway and partial freeway in the northern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, linking North Beach with Middle Swan. As part of State Route 3, it forms half of Perth's outer ring road along with Roe Highway, which it joins onto at its eastern terminus.
The highway has many variable speed limits and road conditions along its length, but is predominantly a four-lane dual carriageway with a 90 km/h speed limit. An 8 kilometre section, between Erindale Road and Malaga Drive, is a continuous freeway. In conjunction with Tonkin Highway, it serves as an important arterial connection between Perth's coastal and eastern suburbs, industrial areas and Perth Airport.
History
Reid Highway was initially proposed in the late 1960s as the "North Perimeter Highway", and a small two-lane section was built in early 1986 between Erindale Road and the-then newly extended Mitchell Freeway. In 1989 it was subsequently renamed "Reid Highway", in honour of former Western Australia Governor Gordon Reid.
The next section was built between Alexander Drive and Malaga Drive, and was opened on 6 September 1991.[1] A segment linking Malaga Drive to Tonkin Highway opened later that year, on 11 November 1991,[1] with further extensions west to Mirrabooka Avenue and east to Beechboro Road opening two months later, on 11 February 1992.[1]
The highway was further extended with the section between Mirrabooka Avenue and Wanneroo Road, which opened on 17 November 1994.[1] The highway was finally made continuous on 6 September 1996 with the opening of the Erindale Road–Wanneroo Road segment.[1] A short time later, it was extended eastwards to West Swan Road. This section, which opened on 25 November 1996, provided a connection to Great Northern Highway and Roe Highway via Middle Swan Road, an existing local road.[1]
In 2001, the highway was extended west from Mitchell Freeway to Marmion Avenue as a two-lane divided carriageway, which opened on 30 July.[1] This extension was highly controversial as it passes through the environmentally sensitive Carine wetlands and the Lake Carine region, which includes a vital turtle habitat. Concerns about environmental damage prompted construction delays, and slight alterations to the route.[citation needed]
Criticism of the quality and capacity of the highway has also been an issue. Reid Highway in Westminster (between Wanneroo Road and Mirrabooka Avenue) has no street lighting and has attracted both antisocial behaviour and a number of accidents.[citation needed] The stretch between Beechboro Road and West Swan Road has been similarly criticised, and the area east of the Mitchell Freeway is prone to heavy congestion due to its limited capacity as a two-lane single carriageway.
A four-lane dual carriageway extension of Reid Highway from West Swan Road to Great Northern Highway and Roe Highway was opened on the 26th of February 2010,[1][2] completing State Route 3 as a highway-grade ring road around Perth. The extension runs parallel to Middle Swan Road, which has been retained as a local access road. Middle Swan Road is of a relatively poor standard and capacity, and is viewed as a safety blackspot.
In 2011, the highway's traffic-light intersections at Alexander Drive and Mirrabooka Avenue were both upgraded to diamond interchanges, with bridges being constructed to carry highway traffic.[3][4] Along with the similarly grade-separated Wanneroo Road interchange, this completed an 8 kilometre section of grade-separated, free traffic flow between the industrial estates of Balcatta and Malaga.
Future works
The T junction at Lord Street is going to be upgraded to a traffic light controlled intersection, with four through lanes and improved turning lanes on Reid Highway.[5]
The RAC has lobbied for continued improvements to Reid Highway, by grade-separating the Malaga Drive intersection and making the highway a dual carriageway for its entire length.[6] The WA State Government initially did not commit to further major upgrades, instead funding an upgrade to the turning lanes at the Malaga Drive intersection.[7] In December 2012, the State Government announced that the Malaga Drive intersection would be grade separated by 2014-15, with work commencing in 2013-14.[8][9][10] The project will use the same diamond interchange design that was constructed at Alexander Drive and Mirrabooka Avenue in 2011.[8]
The Mitchell Freeway diamond interchange will be upgraded with extra turning lanes and traffic lights.[11][12] The project is an interim solution to lower congestion, and reduce the volume of traffic using local roads to avoid the interchange.[11][12] The longer term plan is to upgrade Reid Highway to a dual carriageway between Duffy Road South and Erindale Road, including a second overpass bridge,[11] which is scheduled for construction in 2014-15.[8][9][10] The dual carriageway works will also include upgrading the Duffy Road intersection.[8]
Route description
Reid Highway runs between Marmion Avenue, North Beach, and Great Northern Highway, Middle Swan, where it becomes Roe Highway. West of Marmion Avenue, the highway becomes North Beach Road (West).
Most junctions on the highway are at-grade, with all crossroad intersections traffic light controlled and most T junctions not controlled by traffic lights. The exceptions are Wanneroo Road, Mirrabooka Avenue and Alexander Drive, which are grade-separated diamond interchanges, and Okley Road and Tonkin Highway, which are traffic light controlled T junctions. The intersection with Tonkin Highway is unusual in that Tonkin Highway, which continues as Reid Highway west of the intersection, is the continuous section of the T junction. To continue travelling on Reid Highway, one must turn left (eastbound) or right (westbound) at the intersection. Middle Swan Road and Harris Road are left-in/left-out T junctions that connect via an underpass. They are signposted as being "temporary access". Alternative access will be required in the future, as Reid Highway is planned to be upgraded to a six lane freeway.[13]
Interchanges and intersections
The entire highway is located in the Perth Metropolitan Region.
| LGA | Location | km | Mile | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stirling | Carine, Karrinyup, North Beach, Watermans Bay | 0 | 0 | Marmion Avenue (State Route 71) – Hillarys, Scarborough | Highway terminus: continues west as North Beach Road |
| Carine, Karrinyup | 0.3 | 0.2 | North Beach Road (east) – Carine, Karrinyup | T junction (south) | |
| Carine | 0.8 | 0.5 | Everingham Street – Carine | T junction | |
| 1.3 | 0.8 | Okely Road – Carine, Duncraig | Traffic light controlled T junction | ||
| 2.0– 2.2 | 1.2– 1.4 | Duffy Road (north) / Duffy Road South – Carine, Gwelup | Staggered T junctions | ||
| Carine, Hamersley, Balcatta | 2.8– 3.2 | 1.7– 2.0 |  Mitchell Freeway northbound ramps (State Route 2) – Joondalup | Modified diamond interchange (Mitchell Freeway free flowing) with southbound entrance ramp looped. Traffic lights at each intersection. | |
| Mitchell Freeway southbound ramps (State Route 2) north) / Balcatta Road south – Perth, Balcatta | |||||
| Balcatta, Hamersley | 4.2 | 2.6 |  Erindale Road (State Route 77) – Perth City (via Mitchell Freeway), Balcatta, Warwick | ||
| Balcatta, Balga, Hamersley, Westminster | 5.5 | 3.4 |  Wanneroo Road (State Route 60) – Perth, Wanneroo | Diamond interchange | |
| Balga, Mirrabooka, Westminster | 8.2 | 5.1 | Mirrabooka Avenue – Mirrabooka, Nollamara | Diamond interchange | |
| Stirling, Swan | Dianella, Mirrabooka, Malaga, Noranda | 10.4 | 6.5 |  Alexander Drive (State Route 56) – Dianella, Malaga | Diamond interchange |
| Swan | Malaga, Noranda | 11.1 | 6.9 | Malaga Drive – Malaga, Noranda | |
| Beechboro, Malaga, Noranda | 13.0 | 8.1 |   Tonkin Highway (State Route 4) – Morley, Perth Airport | Reid Highway eastbound continues south as Tonkin Highway, Reid Highway westbound intersects at a traffic light controlled T Junction | |
| Beechboro | 13.9 | 8.6 |  Beechboro Road North (State Route 53)Beechboro, Morley, Whiteman Park | ||
| 15.9 | 9.9 | Altone Road – Beechboro | |||
| Caversham, West Swan | 18.1– 18.2 | 11.2– 11.3 | Bennett Brook Bridge | ||
| 18.8 | 11.7 | Lord Street – Ellenbrook, Whiteman Park | T junction | ||
| 20.6 | 12.8 |   West Swan Road (State Route 52 / Tourist Drive 203) – Guildford, Upper Swan, Swan Valley | |||
| 21.9– 22.1 | 13.6– 13.7 | Middle Swan Road north / Harris Road south – Caversham, Bandyup Women's Prison | Temporary access via staggered LILO T junctions | ||
| Caversham, Middle Swan, West Swan | 23.0– 23.3 | 14.3– 14.5 | Whiteman Bridge (over Swan River) | ||
| Middle Swan | 23.4 | 14.5 | Yule Avenue – Saint Mary's Church | Eastbound access via LILO T junction | |
| 23.7 | 14.7 |  Great Northern Highway (National Highway 95 north / National Route 1 / Tourist Drive 203) – Midland, Moora, Geraldton, Meekatharra | Highway terminus: continues east as Roe Highway (National Highway 95 / State Route 3) | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 "Major Metropolitan Road Network Changes" (PDF). Major Network Changes. Main Roads Western Australia. 20 April 2011. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
- ↑ Reid Highway Extension, Main Roads Western Australia
- ↑ Mirrabooka Ave overpass, Main Roads Western Australia
- ↑ Reid Highway Overpass, Main Roads Western Australia
- ↑ Frank, Caroline (16 May 2012). "Lights for Lord St blackspot". Community Newspaper Group. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
- ↑ "State Budget Submission 2012/13" (PDF). Royal Automobile Club of Western Australia. February 2012. p. 12. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
- ↑ "Green light to end red-light frustration". Community Newspaper Group. 21 June 2011. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 "State Govt’s $500m northern suburbs roads package". Ministerial Media Statements. Government of Western Australia. 2 December 2012. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Mullany, Ashlee (1 December 2012). "$500 million roads fix favours northern suburbs". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Price, Margaret (6 December 2012). "Freeway ‘blow out’ fears". Joondalup Weekender. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 "Upgrade for Mitchell Fwy/Reid Hwy interchange". Ministerial Media Statements. Government of Western Australia. 12 October 2012. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Lette, Erienne (12 October 2012). "Notorious intersection to be upgraded". Stirling Times. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
- ↑ "Information Sheet 2" (PDF). Reid Highway Extension. Main Roads Western Australia. November 2007. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
- Notes
- MSN Maps and Directions
- Skyview WA - Department of Land Information Western Australia
- UBD and Metropolitan Street Directories - Various Editions, 1970s-1990s.
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| KML file (edit) |
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