Armadale Road

History

By 1973, the Shire of Armadale–Kelmscott was advocating for a bypass road to be build along the route of the former Spearwood–Armadale railway line.

Construction started in 1978 for a single carriageway from Abbey Road in Armadale to Forrest Road in Forrestdale. In 1983 it was extended it to the current Albany Highway/South Western Highway intersection via a dual carriageway section and Jull Street was subsequently disconnected from the intersection. In 1991 the dual carriageway was extended west to just past Seville Drive.

Before the mid 1990s Forrest Road was the main road from Hamilton Hill to Armadale. The realignment of Forrest Road in 1991, as the Kwinana Freeway was extended, saw it renamed a few years later as Armadale Road up to the freeway (with most of the remainder of the old Forrest Road being renamed North Lake Road).

As part of the Tonkin Highway extension from 2003 to 2005, Armadale Road was upgraded to a dual carriageway from Lake Road to Anstey Road. This was done in anticipation of the large volumes of traffic expected due to the extension.

Recent upgrades

Following the 2017 election of Western Australian Labor to the state parliament, the controversial Perth Freight Link project was cancelled. This allowed for a new Commonwealth-State agreement to be reached, which would allow for of funding to be relocated to other road projects. Two of these projects were the $145-million Armadale Road dual carriage upgrade between Anstey Road and Tapper Road, as well as the $237-million North Lake Road bridge over Kwinana Freeway.

Anstey Road to Tapper Road

The project involved the widening of the road to a dual carriageway. The intersection with Nicholson Road, one of the state's worst black spots, was upgraded to a bridge over a roundabout with the bridge named the Hugo Throssell VC Bridge after the late Victoria Cross Recipient. A shared path for pedestrians and cyclists was built adjacent to the road, with various facilities being installed along the length of the road. This was opened in March 2020. The upgrade also delivered new roundabouts at the intersection with Liddelow Road and at the intersection with Taylor Road and Wright Road, as well as upgrades at the Ghostgum Avenue intersection.

Armadale Road to North Lake Road Bridge

This project involved the construction of a bridge over Kwinana Freeway with north-facing on and off ramps, connecting Armadale Road to North Lake Road. This removed another one of the state's black spots, the Beeliar Drive and Midgegooroo Avenue intersection, reduce congestion on the Kwinana Freeway interchange, and improve access to Cockburn Central railway station. Grade separated roundabouts will be constructed at Tapper Road and Verde Drive and at a new Beeliar Drive and Solomon Road intersection. Going westwards Armadale Road is constructed to pass over the former roundabout as an overpass bridge but then lowers to pass under the latter roundabout, leading to the intersections being termed a duck and dive interchange.

This project will link with the Kwinana Freeway northbound widening from Russell Road to Roe Highway, the aforementioned Armadale Road widening and the extension of the Thornlie branch to terminate at Cockburn Central. Construction commenced in late 2019, with the new roads opening to traffic on 16 December 2021.

Major intersections

Modified collector-distributor lanes with pedestrian signals connect the two roundabouts. State Route 14 western concurrency terminus at Beeliar Drive. Provides access to the Kwinana Freeway southbound.

Speed limits

The road has speed limits of 70 km/h between the Kwinana Freeway and Tapper Road in Atwell, and between the Armadale railway line and Albany Highway; all other sections are signed 80 km/h.

References

References

1. (2012). "Distance book". Main Roads Western Australia.
2. (18 July 1973). "Armadale Aim – Road on old railway track". The West Australian.
3. "Armadale Road – Construct dual carriageway from Anstey Road to Tapper Road". Main Roads Western Australia.
4. (10 May 2017). "Roe 8 Alliance redeployed to three new projects". Government of Western Australia.
5. (14 December 2018). "Armadale Road to North Lake Road Bridge". Government of Western Australia.
6. "Armadale Road to North Lake Road Bridge Fact Sheet". Government of Western Australia.
7. "Work starts on major Armadale Road upgrade".
8. "Armadale Road Upgrade - Tapper Road to Anstey Road". Government of Western Australia.
9. (12 March 2018). "Work starts on $145m Armadale Road upgrade in Perth". Urbanalyst.
10. (14 March 2018). "Sod turning marks the start of Armadale Road upgrades". Cockburn Gazette.
11. "Armadale Road to North Lake Road Bridge".