Bussell Highway is a generally north–south highway in the

South West The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

region of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. The highway links the city of Bunbury with the town of Augusta and is approximately in length. The highway is signed ''State Route 10'', except in

Busselton Busselton is a city in the South West region of the state of Western Australia approximately south-west of Perth. Busselton has a long history as a popular holiday destination for Western Australians; however, the closure of the Busselton ...

where the construction of the Busselton Bypass in 2000 resulted in this stretch being changed to ''Alternate State Route 10'' with the Bypass signed ''State Route 10''. The highway is sealed

dual carriageway A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...

from Bunbury to Capel and in the town of

; and is single carriageway from Capel to Busselton and from Vasse to Augusta with regular overtaking lanes.

History

Bussell Highway was built in 1894 after successful lobbying by M. C. Davies, a timber miller, as a road connecting Busselton with his mill at Karridale. The tender had been let to Davies by the State government under

John Forrest Sir John Forrest (22 August 1847 – 2 SeptemberSome sources give the date as 3 September 1918 1918) was an Australian explorer and politician. He was the first premier of Western Australia (1890–1901) and a long-serving cabinet minister i ...

. In 1932, the road from Busselton to Augusta was completed and named ''Bussell Highway'' after the Bussell family, some of the region's first settlers, on the suggestion of Premier James Mitchell in consultation with historian

James Battye James Sykes Battye (1871–1954) was an Australian librarian who was the first chief librarian of the Victoria Public Library in Perth, Western Australia. He was a leading historian, librarian and public figure in Western Australian and also s ...

; the name, which incorporated a portion of Quindalup Road, was announced on 8 April of that year to coincide with Busselton's centenary celebrations. In 1946 Bunbury Road and Vasse Road were incorporated into Bussell highway, thus extending the highway to Bunbury. By the early 1960s, the road had been completely sealed. In 1995, the Ludlow deviation, a replacement of part of the highway that bypasses the

Tuart Forest National Park Tuart Forest National Park is a national park in the South West region of Western Australia, south of Perth. It contains the largest remaining section of pure tuart forest in the world. Traditionally the state forest associated with this stand ...

, was opened; the old route through the forest is now named Tuart Drive. The Busselton Bypass was completed in December 2000, while the Vasse bypass was completed in January 2016. In 2016, Main Roads asked the local government

Shire of Capel The Shire of Capel is a local government area in the South West region of Western Australia, taking in the land between the cities of Bunbury and Busselton about south of the state capital, Perth. The Shire covers an area of , and its seat of ...

to clear land along the final stretch for the proposed dual carriageway between Capel and Busselton. In 2019, the

Perimeter Road The Perimeter Road, also known as the Margaret River Perimeter Road, is a highway bypass of Margaret River, Western Australia. The road deviates Bussell Highway traffic, including heavy vehicles, to the east of the town, and connects to a new ...

, which diverts heavy traffic from Bussell Highway around, rather than through, Margaret River, was completed. In 2020, funding was brought forward for the dual carriageway to support jobs during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. The south-bound section of the first of two stages, between Capel and Hutton Road, was opened in December 2021. SWAHighways

Route description

Departing Bunbury, the highway commences at the intersection of Blair Street and Parade Road outside the Bunbury Racecourse in Carey Park. After about , it intersects at a large roundabout with Bunbury's ring road,

Robertson Drive Robertson Drive, also known as the Bunbury Bypass, Bunbury Ring Road, or Bunbury Inner Ring Road, is a road in Bunbury, Western Australia. It forms a partial ring road around Bunbury, allowing highway traffic to bypass the city centre. The ro ...

, connecting the highway to several major routes:

Australind Bypass Forrest Highway is a highway in Western Australia's Peel and South West regions, extending Perth's Kwinana Freeway from east of Mandurah down to Bunbury. Old Coast Road was the original Mandurah–Bunbury route, dating back to the 1840s. ...

and

Forrest Highway Forrest Highway is a highway in Western Australia's Peel and South West regions, extending Perth's Kwinana Freeway from east of Mandurah down to Bunbury. Old Coast Road was the original Mandurah–Bunbury route, dating back to the 1840s. ...

lead to

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

via

Mandurah Mandurah () is a coastal city in the Australian state of Western Australia, situated approximately south of the state capital, Perth. It is the state's second most populous city, with a population of 107,641 as of the 2021 Australian census, 2 ...

;

South Western Highway South Western Highway is a highway in the South West region of Western Australia connecting Perth's southeast with Walpole. It is a part of the Highway 1 network for most of its length. It is about long. Route description Perth to Bunbury ...

north-eastbound to

Harvey Harvey, Harveys or Harvey's may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Harvey'' (play), a 1944 play by Mary Chase about a man befriended by an invisible anthropomorphic rabbit * Harvey Awards ("Harveys"), one of the most important awards ...

, and to

Collie Collies form a distinctive type of herding dogs, including many related landraces and standardized breeds. The type originated in Scotland and Northern England. Collies are medium-sized, fairly lightly-built dogs, with pointed snouts. Man ...

via

Coalfields Highway Coalfields Road, is a Western Australian highway linking Roelands (near Bunbury) on the South Western Highway with Arthur River on the Albany Highway. It is signed as State Route 107 and is about long. Route description Coalfields Road i ...

; and South Western Highway south-westbound to Donnybrook. It exits Bunbury as a sealed

, bypassing the town of Capel before becoming a single carriageway to

. This section was considered the most dangerous road in regional Western Australia according to a 2019 survey by the

Royal Automobile Club of Western Australia The Royal Automobile Club of Western Australia (RAC WA) is a motoring club and mutual organisation, offering motoring services and advice, insurance, travel services, finance, driver training and exclusive benefits for their members. As an indep ...

. At a large roundabout, it intersects with the Busselton Bypass and changes its name to Causeway Road, then turns left into Albert Street in Busselton's CBD. After one block it reverts to Bussell Highway, proceeding for as a

through Busselton's western suburbs before turning left at

Abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conce ...

. The road then proceeds as a single carriageway with regular overtaking lanes to Augusta through small dairy and crop farms, orchards and wineries – the only slow point on this entire journey is when it becomes the main street of the popular tourist and

seachange ''SeaChange'' is an Australian television program that ran from 1998 to 2000 on the ABC and in 2019 on the Nine Network. It was created by Andrew Knight and Deborah Cox and starred Sigrid Thornton, David Wenham, William McInnes, John Howar ...

town of

Margaret River The Margaret River is a river in southwest Western Australia. In a small catchment, it is the eponym of the town and tourist region of Margaret River. The river arises from a catchment of just 40 square kilometres in the Whicher Range. ...

. The linked

bypasses the town. The highway ends at the entrance to Augusta, but the road continues as Blackwood Avenue through the town and then as Leeuwin Road for before reaching

Cape Leeuwin Cape Leeuwin is the most south-westerly (but not most southerly) mainland point of the Australian continent, in the state of Western Australia. Description A few small islands and rocks, the St Alouarn Islands, extend further in Flinders Ba ...

, the southwestern tip of

Major towns

* Gelorup * Capel (bypass) *

* Broadwater *

Carbunup River The Carbunup River is located in the south-west corner of Western Australia. The mouth of the Carbunup River is approximately west of Busselton where the river flows into Geographe Bay. The Carbunup River is in length and flows north from i ...

* Cowaramup *

Witchcliffe Witchcliffe is a small town in the South West (Western Australia), South West region of Western Australia, located a few kilometres south of Margaret River, Western Australia, Margaret River on the Bussell Highway. The name originates from a cav ...

* Karridale * Kudardup * Augusta

Major intersections

References

External links