Albany Highway

In Perth, Albany Highway's north-western terminus is at a parclo interchange with The Causeway, Shepperton Road, and Great Eastern and Canning Highways in Victoria Park. The first 200 metres (660 ft) of the road is one-way into the interchange, but only connecting to The Causeway and Canning Highway – there is no direct access to the other roads. For the next four kilometres (2.5 mi), the highway is a two-lane, two-way high street serving Victoria Park's town centre, and continuing south-east through East Victoria Park. The nearby four-lane Shepperton Road serves as a bypass, carrying through-traffic as well as State Route 30.[1][2]

Albany Highway as a dual carriageway in Cannington

The two roads converge at an intersection with Welshpool Road, and for 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) Albany Highway serves as an arterial route in Perth's south-eastern suburbs, varying between a single carriageway and dual carriageway, and between a four- and six-lane capacity. This part of the highway is dominated by commercial shopping precincts in Bentley, Cannington, Maddington, Gosnells and Kelmscott, with numerous sets of traffic lights.[1][2] The section of Albany Highway through Beckenham and Kenwick is allocated Alternate State Route 30, while State Route 30 follows a bypass, Kenwick Link.[3]

Albany Highway has a folded diamond interchange with Tonkin Highway in Gosnells, and continues south for seven kilometres (4.3 mi) past commercial and residential properties in Kelmscott and Mount Nasura. The highway has a T junction that is the western terminus of Brookton Highway, at the boundary between Kelmscott, and Mount Nasura. Further south in Armadale, the highway intersects the eastern end of Armadale Road and northern end of South Western Highway.[1][2]

Two-lane highway section near Mount Barker

Albany Highway and South Coast Highway intersection outside Albany

Albany Highway proceeds east and then south from Armadale, around the suburb of Mount Richon. The road continues south-east, with signs of human activity becoming more sparse as the highway crosses the Darling Scarp, and the scenery transitions to native forest. Further south, after 60 kilometres (37 mi), it transitions again to pastures, with farming activities such as livestock rearing and orchards. Over the next 300 kilometres (190 mi), the highway encounters few towns: Williams, Kojonup and Mount Barker are on the highway, but are 100 kilometres (62 mi) apart. Roadhouses exist at North Bannister, Crossman and Arthur River, while many of the service towns in the region are approximately 30 kilometres (20 mi) to the east on Great Southern Highway, including Narrogin, Wagin and Katanning.[1][2]

Closer to Albany, there are large tracts of blue gum eucalypt plantations. Twelve kilometres (7.5 mi) from the road's south-eastern terminus, it passes Albany Airport. The highway passes by suburban areas before intersecting South Coast Highway at a Y intersection, and only 100 metres (330 ft) beyond it, a large five-way roundabout. This roundabout is the southern terminus of State Route 30, and connects the highway with Chester Pass Road (which continues east to South Coast Highway), North Road, and Hanrahan Road. The final two-and-a-half-kilometre (1.6 mi) stretch takes the highway south-east into the centre of Albany.[1][2]

Prior to European settlement, the indigenous Noongar people had a considerable network of tracks around their territory in the south-west of Western Australia. One such track, used as a trade route, linked the Swan River (in modern-day Perth) with the area now known as Albany. The track followed a similar alignment to modern-day Albany Highway.[7][8]

On 25 December 1826, the New South Wales colonial government brig Amity, under the command of Major Edmund Lockyer, arrived at King George Sound to establish a military garrison.[9] On 21 January 1827, as instructed by the Colonial Secretary, the Union Jack was raised and a feu de joie fired by the troops, formally annexing the territory, in assertion of the first official claim by the Imperial Government to British possession over the whole continent of Australia.[10][11] On 7 March 1831 the King George Sound and colony was made part of the Swan River Colony and a free settlement.[12] Albany was officially named by Governor Stirling at the beginning of 1832, at the time that political authority passed to the Swan River colony.[13] The construction of a road from Albany to Perth began soon thereafter, but only 16 miles (26 km) had been completed by 1833. Due to this slow progress, the settlers of Albany petitioned England to supply convicts to work on the road.[14] At the time the government in Perth derided the proposal,[14] and Western Australia would not become a penal colony until 1849.[15]

In October and November 1835, Governor Stirling and Surveyor-General John Septimus Roe travelled overland from Perth to Albany, with the focus of the journey being the route south of the Hotham River. A more comprehensive survey was undertaken in July–September 1836 by Assistant Surveyors Alfred Hillman and D. Smith. Hillman started from the Albany end, while Smith concurrently commenced from Perth. A few months later, in February 1837, Hillman accompanied a group that made the trip to Perth in 12 days travelling time, journeying via Chorkurup, Thokokup, Mount Barker, Lake Matilda, Kojonup, Williams and Arthur River. This group was led by Mr J. Harris, and included Lieutenant Armstrong with eight soldiers of the 21st Fusiliers, Albany settlers Patrick Taylor and Dr. Thomas Harrison, as well as Kartrull, who was referred to as "the native 'Handsome'".[16][14] The place where they arrived in Williams was right opposite the road from Kelmscott to Williams, Mr Harris describe Hillnman as please having previously survey the route from Perth to Kelmscott.[16] In April 1838 four bridges were built near Albany by John Young, and in 1839 Governor John Hutt ventured out to Albany on an official visit, travelling through Williams and Kojonup. Assistant Surveyor Hillman led a large group of Albany settlers to Perth in 1840, via Kinunup, Yarenup, Joseph's Wells, Balgarrup and Mandalup; whilst in the same year Edward John Eyre shepherded 550 sheep and 70 cattle from Albany to York, and then over to Perth.[14]

A monthly mail route was set up in June 1841, travelling from Albany to Perth via Kojonup and Williams.[14] The following year, a service through Guildford commenced. The tough conditions of the mail route saw a different contractor providing the service each year. The 1845 contractor James Martin had particular trouble with debts, which led to his mail horse being seized; while he managed to acquire a replacement animal, he also had trouble servicing the resultant debt of £2.[17] In 1847, the Perth–Albany route was adjusted, so that the mail would travel from Albany to Kojonup, then head to Bunbury on the coast, and subsequently up to Perth via Rockingham and Fremantle.[14] The new route still had difficulties, such as flooding in the winter of 1847 that resulted in a "terrible trip" which took a month to complete. The people of Albany, who could travel as passengers on the mail cart, found the trip to Perth long and deplorable.[17]

With the arrival of the convict ship Scindian on 1 June 1850 and the advent of convict labour, early completion of the Perth–Albany road seemed assured. Investigations of a direct route via Kelmscott, Hotham, Williams and Kojonup began in late 1851. Assistant Surveyor A. C. Gregory reported in 1852 that the direct route would be 57 miles (92 km) shorter than the route via Bunbury, and 40 miles (64 km) shorter than the York route.[14] Construction was recommended in late 1852, after the mail contractor George Maxwell completed a journey along the proposed route in September, and soon commenced. Fifty miles (80 km) had been completed by October 1853,[14] and the whole road was finished in 1863.[18] The road served as the main link between Perth and Albany until the 1880s, when the Great Southern Railway opened.[14]

The rise of the motor vehicle era in the early 20th century saw the road gain prominence once more.[14] The newly formed Main Roads Board[lower-alpha 1] took over control and maintenance of the Perth–Albany road and twenty-one other important roads between 1926 and 1928, which were declared "main roads".[19]^: 27 At this stage the Perth–Albany road was not much more developed than a bush track.[19]^: 22 To increase the usability of the overall main road network, the Board's work schedule prioritised upgrading the worst individual segments, rather than any one road. In 1928/29, twenty-two separate sections of the Perth–Albany road were improved, but many were short, and drivers would experience quite varied conditions, from new sealed road to gravel road, and then a boggy dirt in just a few miles.[19]^: 27–28 By 1932, the improved conditions allowed an average speed of 35 to 40 miles per hour (55 to 65 km/h) to be reached, for a total trip of eight to nine hours instead of two days.[19]^: 62 In 1938, a total of eight miles (13 km) had been sealed,[19]^: 76 and the following year the whole route had been completed.[19]^: 435

In 1935, a town planning report for the City of Perth noted traffic congestion on Albany Road[lower-alpha 2] in Victoria Park. As widening the existing road would have left the council liable for compensation from affected businesses and properties, the provision of bypass routes was recommended instead.[20] To provide the bypasses, parallel roads would be upgraded and extended: Berwick Street to the south-west, and Shepperton Road to the north-east.[21] In 1937, work had progressed on extending Berwick Street eastwards,[22] and it had been extended to Alday Street by November 1938.[23] A new causeway to extend Berwick Street north over the Swan River, and make it a truck route, was considered by the state government in 1940.[24] The existing Causeway, from which Albany Road commenced, had experienced almost a doubling of traffic volume between 1930 and 1939.[25] However, the new Causeway was eventually constructed adjacent to old Causeway, which was then demolished.[26]

The cooperation of the Canning Road District would be required to continue the Berwick Street bypass south-east beyond the city's boundary at Boundary Road, and ultimately through to Albany Road.[27] The South Perth Road Board was also in favour of such a bypass, which would improve access for South Perth residents.[28] A deputation from the Canning and South Perth Road Boards to the Acting Minister For Works, Mr E. H. Gray, in June 1940 complained about the congestion in Albany Road. The traffic delays were worsened by cars parked on both sides of the road and slow-moving trams. The deputation suggested extending Berwick Street to Albany Highway as the solution, as well as removing the trams. Gray contended that parking should be prohibited, and refused to scrap the trams, but said he would consider the resumption of land east of Berwick Street to enable a one-quarter-mile (0.40 km) extension to Albany Road.[29] However, Berwick Street was diverted to the south-west to connect with Chapman Road, providing a longer continuous route west of Albany Highway.[2]

Shepperton Road ran parallel to Albany Road between Harvey Street, 45 chains (3,000 ft; 910 m) from The Causeway, and Somerset Street, one and a half miles (2.4 km) further along.[30] In 1937, a road from Asquith Street to Albany Road was constructed, to eventually link in with Shepperton Road. In the same year, the intersection of Albany Road, Milford Street, and Welshpool Road was reconfigured to improve visibility, and in anticipation of an eastern extension to Shepperton Road.[22] In April 1940, that extension was nearing completion, which was expected to be by the end of May, while the demolition of houses on land resumed for the western extension was being arranged.[30] On 29 September 1941, the Perth City Council decided to construct the link between Asquith Street and Harvey Street early the following year, completing the Shepperton Road bypass.[31] Buses were rerouted onto Shepperton Road in 1946,[32] by which time it had become the preferred route for motorists.[33]

Shepperton Road (red) bypass of Albany Highway (blue). In September 1941 the section between Asquith Street and Harvey Street was yet to be constructed.

In November 1939, the State Advisory Committee on Nomenclature recommended that the Perth–Albany road be named Great Southern Highway, in recognition of its importance as an arterial traffic route.[34] This suggestion followed on from the naming of Great Eastern Highway,[34] in April of the previous year.[35] The committee sent letters to all the local governments in the area to advise them of the proposal.[34] Feedback was mixed; whilst the name was "thoroughly approved"[36] by the Tambellup Road Board,[36] and the Perth City Council's general purposes committee recommended that no objection be raised,[37] the Kojonup Road Board believed that "sufficient grounds [did] not exist for the proposed change",[38] and the Albany Municipal Council objected strongly to not retaining "Perth–Albany" in the name.[39]

The State Advisory Committee made a new recommendation in April 1940 for Albany Highway instead of Great Southern Highway.[40] This new proposal received support from the Albany Municipal Council and Tambellup Road Board. However, the Perth City Council still preferred Great Southern Highway, and recommended that within its boundaries – from The Causeway to Welshpool – the road be named Albany Road,[41] and that one of the proposed bypasses in the area would be better suited to the highway name.[42] The entire road was renamed Albany Highway on 2 October 1940, superseding the previously used names Albany Road, Perth–Albany Road, and High Street in Kojonup.[43][44]

During World War II, the Main Roads Department focused its activities on the war effort.[19]^: 90–91 Roads in rural areas deteriorated, especially after the Pearl Harbour attack brought the war to the Pacific, and only the most urgent maintenance works were authorised on roads for civilian purposes.[19]^{: 96, 100} Following the war, Main Roads returned to its usual operations, repairing and maintaining the road network.[19]^{: 106–107} The rural road network expanded in the 1950s, with Main Roads both repairing the worst segments of its roads, through numerous small jobs, and assisting local governments to seal their roads. Such activity was spurred on by the closure of railway lines in addition to the establishment of new land settlements.[19]^{: 148–149}

In Perth, a roundabout was constructed at the north-western end of Albany Highway, to improve the flow of traffic onto and off The Causeway.[19]^: 127 It opened in 1952, with guides on the usage of the roundabout published in newspapers.[19]^: 129–30 In 1973 construction began to upgrade the intersection to a partial cloverleaf interchange at the eastern end of The Causeway. The $1.3 million interchange opened on 8 March 1974.[19]^: 258

Albany Highway facing south near Tunney

By the late 1970s, the road sections sealed in the 1950s and 1960s were in need of repair or maintenance to prolong the pavement life. Old bitumen surfaces would deteriorate and crack. Resealing such cracks was a high priority, as expensive reconstruction would be required if water was allowed to enter the road base.[19]^: 277 Over a ten-year period, $49 million was spent on repairing Albany Highway. The techniques used in this process were then formalised into the 4R Program, which aimed to alleviate a growing maintenance problem – based on a thirty-five-year pavement lifespan, the amount of reconstruction required would be more than double the actual rate of reconstruction.[lower-alpha 3] "4R" abbreviated the options that could be used keep roads serviceable:[19]^{: 338–389}

• Restoration – maintaining the condition of a road
• Resurfacing – resealing a bitumen surface which was no longer waterproof, to prevent pavement failure
• Rehabilitation – improving a deteriorated road to its original condition
• Reconstruction – done when deterioration was beyond the point of repairs

Interventions to prevent a road requiring reconstruction, the most costly option, would save money.[19]^: 389

From the 1980s Main Roads began planning for the future needs of Albany Highway within the City of Canning in Perth, in conjunction with the City and the Metropolitan Region Planning Authority.[45][46][47] A three-kilometre (2 mi) section between Leach Highway and Nicholson Road was subsequently upgraded between November 1992 and June 1994. The four-lane undivided road had been one of the most congested in Perth but was improved by adding a third lane in each direction as well as a median strip. The project was recognised with an Excellence Award from the Institution of Engineers Australia in 1994.[19]^{: 396–397} In the 1990s several other improvement projects were planned across the length of the highway, including between Bedfordale and North Bannister,[48][49] through Mount Barker,[50] and between Narrikup and Albany.[51] Closer to Perth, the section along Bedfordale Hill (south-east of Armadale) was upgraded to a four-lane dual carriageway,[52][53][54] with work completed in June 1999.[55]

This period also saw the planning and construction of additional junctions with new major roads in Perth. At Armadale, Armadale Road would connect to what had been a three-way junction with South Western Highway,[56] while a highway deviation was proposed to connect to the extension of Roe Highway through Beckenham.[57] The proposed deviation became Kenwick Link, constructed as part of the Roe Highway extension towards Fremantle.[58] It was initially built as a single carriageway,[59] and upgraded to a dual carriageway later.[60] It opened on 17 April 1998, ahead of the Roe Highway extensions from Welshpool Road to Kenwick Link (opened 30 November 2002) and from Kenwick Link to Nicholson Road (opened 21 January 2003).[61]

Further work was undertaken in Perth in 2011 and 2012, between John Street in Bentley and Leach Highway. The road was widened and a median installed to increase both safety and efficiency. The works also upgraded intersection, including installation of new traffic lights. Downer EDI Works Pty Ltd completed the work under a $3.65 million contract.[62] In January 2014, work began on widening and reconstructing 2.4 kilometres (1.5 mi) of Albany Highway north of Kojonup.[63]