Road Photos & Information: Western Australia: Forrest Highway, Kwinana Freeway & Mitchell Freeway (State Route 2)

Road Photos & Information: Western Australia

Forrest Highway, Kwinana Freeway & Mitchell Freeway (State Route 2) - Osborne Park to Perth

Statistics:

Length: 140 km (Mitchell Fwy: 30 km)
Northern Terminus: Burns Beach Road (SR87) at Currambine
Southern Terminus: Old Coast Road (NR1) at Lake Clifton
Suburbs, Towns & Localities Along Route: Perth, Northbridge, Leederville, Glendalough, Osborne Park, Stirling, Gwelup, Hamersley, Duncraig, Kingsley, Woodvale, Heathridge, Joondalup, Connolly and Currambine

Route Numbering:

Current:
Road Authority Internal Classification: H16 Mitchell Freeway 1

General Information:

The Forrest Highway, along with the Kwinana and Mitchell Freeways, are without a doubt one of the most important road systems in the Perth metropolitan area, and the southwestern part of the state.

Running in a north-south direction, the freeways link the north and southern suburbs of Perth together plus the southern city of Mandurah and the state's southwest, but also act as a coastal link between the northern and southern parts of the state. Built in stages from the late 1950s the route has seen enormous changes / extensions and is continuously undergoing expansion to this day.

Unique to the freeway sections is the passenger railway line down the median of the road corridor, which in parts also travels alongside other modes of public transport such as buses.

The route varies from 2 to 3 lanes wide in each direction, with provision in most of the newer sections to have another 1 to 2 lanes to be added when required. Exits along the route are somewhat close together, this is probably due to the large number of suburbs state route 2 services, south of Baldivis, the spacings are longer.

When first planned, the Mitchell Fwy was called the Yanchep Highway, as its envisaged that eventually the route will connect to the town.

State Route 2 is joined by National Route 1 at Brentwood from the Leach Hwy (SR7) interchange, forming a duplex through to the Canning Hwy (SR6) interchange at Como.

History:

1967 to 1973: construction of the section between the Narrows Bridge and Sutherland Street West Perth commenced - eventually forming the Narrows Interchange.
8 March 1976: Mitchell Freeway extension (1.6 km) from Railway Parade to Vincent Street opened. (Stage 2). 1
2 June 1978: Mitchell Freeway extension (4.8 km) from Vincent Street to Hutton Street opened. (Stage 3). 1
12 December 1983: Mitchell Freeway extension (3.5 km) from Roberts Street to Karrinyup Road opened. (Stage 4). 1
21 September 1984: Mitchell Freeway extension (1.8 km) from Karrinyup Road to Erindale Road opened. 1
6 August 1986: Mitchell Freeway extension to Hepburn Avenue opened. 1
1987: the freeway extended to Ocean Reef Road Craigie.
2 July 1988: Mitchell Freeway to Ocean Reef Road opened. 1
1992: the median strip of widened for the Joondalup railway line. Also, Mitchell Fwy widening to McDonald St completed. 1
1993: Mitchell Fwy widening to Erindale Rd completed, providing three lanes in each direction. 1
2001: freeway extension to Hodges Dr at Joondalup opened.
2 November 2008: $171.5 million extension to Burns Beach Road Currambine opened to traffic by State Premier, Colin Barnett. 1

Perth to Osborne Park		Osborne Park to Perth
Preview:	Description:	Preview:	Description:
	Lane Allocation Gantry: Looking northbound at Mounts Bay Road in Perth. April 2016. Click here for a photo of this location by Paul Rands from December 2007. Image © Paul Rands		Advance Exit Sign: Advance exit sign for the Graham Farmer Fwy (SR8), southbound at Leederville. November 2008. Image © Paul Rands
	Intersection Directional Sign: Exit gore ID sign at the Mounts Bay Rd (SR5) interchange in Perth, November 2012. Image © Paul Rands		Advance Exit Sign: Sign listing the Perth CBD exits, Leederville. November 2008. Image © Paul Rands
	Narrows Interchange: Looking northbound on the Narrows Interchange in Perth. December 2007. Image © Paul Rands		Vincent St Exit: Southbound at Leederville. December 2007. Image © Paul Rands
	Supplemental AD Sign: Very old freeway green supplemental AD sign at the Riverside Dr / Mounts Bay Rd (SR5) interchange in Perth, requesting motorists to "Weave Left" to access Hay Street. Also note the 'tail' on the letter 'y', something that is not used on newer signs. February 2008. Image © Paul Rands		Leederville Railway Station: Southbound approaching Graham Farmer Fwy, December 2007. Click here for a clear photo of the sign, by Tim Cole from January 2009. Image © Paul Rands
	Supplemental AD Sign: Old freeway green supplemental AD sign at the Riverside Dr / Mounts Bay Rd (SR5) interchange in Perth, for access to Hay Street. Also note the 'tail' on the letter 'y', something that is not used on newer signs. February 2008. Image © Paul Rands		Variable Message Sign: Southbound VMS near Graham Farmer Freeway interchange at West Perth, December 2007. Image © Paul Rands
	Mount Street Exit: Northbound through the Narrows Interchange at the Mount Street exit, Perth. December 2007. Image © Paul Rands		Graham Farmer Fwy Exit: Southbound at the interchange with Graham Farmer Fwy in West Perth, December 2007. Image © Paul Rands
	Lane Allocation Sign: Northbound passing under Malcolm Street, Perth. The 'Exit Only' sign is for the Market Street exit. December 2007. Image © Paul Rands		James & Wellington St Exit: Southbound at Northbridge, December 2007. Image © Paul Rands
	Market St / Graham Farmer Fwy Interchange: Approaching Market Street and Graham Farmer Freeway at Northbridge. December 2007. Image © Paul Rands		James St Exit: Southbound at Northbridge, April 2016. Image © Paul Rands
	Graham Farmer Fwy Exit: Looking at the interchange with Graham Farmer Fwy (SR8), December 2007. Image © Paul Rands		Wellington St Exit: ID sign on the southbound off ramp to Wellington St (SR65) at Northbridge, April 2016. Image © Paul Rands
	Advance Exit Sign: Approaching Vincent Street at the Graham Farmer Fwy interchange at Northbridge. December 2007. Image © Paul Rands		Entrance Ramp to Mitchell Fwy: Southbound entrance ramp to Mitchell Fwy, at the junction with Charles St (SR60) and Newcastle St in Northbridge. February 2009. Image © Paul Rands
	Intersection Directional Sign: ID sign on Sutherland St, West Perth, April 2016. Image © Paul Rands		Advance Exit Sign: Advance exit signage for Mounts Bay Road, Perth, February 2009. Image © Paul Rands
	Freeway Green Advance Directional Sign: Freeway green AD sign on Sutherland St, West Perth, December 2012. Image © Paul Rands		Lane Allocation Sign: Lane allocation sign on the Narrows Interchange in Perth for Riverside Drive and Mounts Bay Road, December 2007. Image © Paul Rands
	Advance Exit Sign: Northbound as you pass under Loftus Street West Perth, December 2007. Image © Paul Rands		Exit Gore: Freeway green SR2 ID sign at the exit gore, Perth, April 2016. Click here for a photo of this location by Paul Rands featuring a freeway green sign from December 2007. Image © Paul Rands
	Vincent St Exit: Looking northbound at West Leederville. December 2007. Image © Paul Rands
	Leederville Station: Northbound as you pass by the Leederville railway station, December 2007. Image © Paul Rands
	Advance Exit Signs: Northbound approaching Powis Street in Leederville, December 2007. Image © Paul Rands
	Powis Street Exit: Northbound at Wembley, December 2007. Image © Paul Rands
	Exit Distance Sign: Northbound advance exit sign at Glendalough, December 2007. Image © Paul Rands
	Advance Exit Sign: Northbound at Glendalough, 1km south of the Hutton Street interchange, April 2016. Click here for a photo of this location by Paul Rands from December 2007. Image © Paul Rands
	Advance Exit Sign: Northbound at Glendalough, 1km south of the Hutton Street interchange, April 2016. Image © Paul Rands
	Hutton St Interchange: Northbound through the interchange with Hutton Street, Osborne Park, December 2007. Image © Paul Rands
	Exit Distance Sign: Northbound exit distance sign in Osborne Pk. Image © Paul Rands
	Advance Exit Sign: Northbound at Osborne Pk as you pass by the signage indicating the next 2 exits. December 2007. Image © Paul Rands
	Footbridge: Elaborate footbridge at Osborne Park, connecting Telford Crescent and King Edward Road. December 2007. Image © Paul Rands
	Ccedric St Interchange: Northbound through the interchange with Cedric Street, Osborne Park, December 2007. Image © Paul Rands
Click here for the continuation of SR2 between Duncraig and Osborne Park Click here for the continuation of SR2 between Perth and North Lake

1 Main Roads Western Australia

Last updated: 23-Jan-2019 0:44

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