Kenwick Link is a major road in
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 ...
, Western Australia that bypasses
Albany Highway
Albany Highway links Western Australia's capital city Perth with its oldest settlement, Albany, on the state's south coast. The highway travels through the southern Wheatbelt and Great Southern regions, and is designated State Route ...
in
Beckenham
Beckenham () is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley, in Greater London. Until 1965 it was part of the historic county of Kent. It is located south-east of Charing Cross, situated north of Elmers End and E ...
and
Kenwick. It is part of
State Route 30, while the bypassed section of Albany Highway is allocated
Alternate State Route 30.
The road also provides access to
Roe Highway
Roe Highway is a limited-access highway and partial freeway in Perth, Western Australia, linking Kewdale with the city's north-eastern and south-western suburbs. The northern terminus is at Reid Highway and Great Northern Highway in Middle ...
, which does not connect to Albany Highway.
It is a controlled-access road for its entire length,
with a grade-separated interchange at Roe Highway, and at-grade intersections elsewhere, including traffic lights at Royal Street and both Albany Highway junctions.
Main Roads Western Australia
Main Roads Western Australia (formerly the Main Roads Department) is a statutory authority of the Government of Western Australia that is responsible for implementing the state's policies on road access and main roads. It operates under the ' ...
maintains and controls all of Kenwick Link, and uses the internal designation Highway H22 Wimbledon–Rupert Street Link.
Kenwick Link was planned as part of the Roe Highway extension towards Fremantle. It was initially built as a single carriageway, and upgraded to a dual carriageway later.
It opened on 17 April 1998, ahead of the Roe Highway extensions from
Welshpool Road
Welshpool Road is a major arterial road running through the metropolitan area of Perth, Western Australia. Although the road is now split in two, having had its western and eastern sections disconnected due to the extension of Roe Highway, it r ...
to Kenwick Link (opened 30 November 2002) and from Kenwick Link to
Nicholson Road
Nicholson Road is a major north-south road in the southeastern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, connecting Albany Highway in Cannington with the large residential areas of Thornlie and Canning Vale, before leaving the Perth urban area a ...
(opened 21 January 2003). Rupert Street was renamed Kenwick Link as part of the project, although a parallel
service road
A frontage road (also known as an access road, outer road, service road, feeder road, or parallel road) is a local road running parallel to a higher-speed, limited-access road. A frontage road is often used to provide access to private drivew ...
in Kenwick is named Rupert Street.
Building the link required demolition of Packer House, a recognised heritage site that was located at 25 Rupert Street, Kenwick. During construction, an artefact of significance to Aboriginal heritage was uncovered: a ''maparn'' stone, used by men in a rain-bringing ceremony. The stone is now in the possession of the Dumbartung Aboriginal Corporation at
Clontarf Aboriginal College
Clontarf Aboriginal College is a co-educational Aboriginal college for indigenous youth aged between 15 and 18 years, located in the Perth suburb of Waterford in Western Australia. Since 2000 the college has also been the centre for the Clontarf ...
.
References
Roads in Perth, Western Australia
Kenwick, Western Australia
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