Morley Drive is a major east-west
road
A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation.
There are many types of ...
in the inner northern suburbs of
Perth, Western Australia
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 ...
, connecting the residential areas of
Balcatta,
Osborne Park,
Tuart Hill
''Eucalyptus gomphocephala'', known as tuart, is a species of tree, one of the six forest giants of Southwest Australia. Tuart forest was common on the Swan coastal plain, until the valuable trees were felled for export and displaced by the urb ...
,
Nollamara
Nollamara is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Its Local government areas of Western Australia, local government area is the City of Stirling.
The name "Nollamara" is a Noongar language, Noongar word for the flowering plant ''Macropidia'', ...
,
Yokine,
Dianella Dianella may refer to:
* ''Dianella'' (beetle), a species and genus of beetle in the family Carabidae now known as ''Diamella''
* ''Dianella'' (gastropod), a genus of freshwater snails in the family Hydrobiidae
* ''Dianella'' (plant), a genus of ...
, and
Morley Morley may refer to:
Places England
* Morley, Norfolk, a civil parish
* Morley, Derbyshire, a civil parish
* Morley, Cheshire, a village
* Morley, County Durham, a village
* Morley, West Yorkshire, a suburban town of Leeds and civil parish
* M ...
with major north-south arterial roads including
Wanneroo Road
Wanneroo Road is a arterial highway in the northern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia linking Joondanna and Yokine in the south with Wanneroo and Yanchep in the north. As part of State Route 60, it begins from Charles Street in the inner ...
,
Alexander Drive
Alexander Drive is a major north–south arterial road in the northern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, connecting Perth's central business district (CBD) with Edith Cowan University's Mount Lawley campus and the Malaga industrial area, a ...
, and
Tonkin Highway
Tonkin Highway is an north–south highway and partial freeway in Perth, Western Australia, linking Perth Airport and Kewdale with the city's north-eastern and south-eastern suburbs. As of April 2020, the northern terminus is at the intercha ...
.
Route description
The road is part of State Route 76, which connects the coastal suburb of
Trigg, Western Australia
Trigg is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Its local government area is the City of Stirling. Trigg Island is a small island off the coast of the suburb of Trigg.
Overview
Trigg Beach is one of Perth's most popular beaches for board rid ...
, with the
Swan Valley in the east.
Morley Drive runs through the following local government areas
City of Stirling
The City of Stirling is a local government area in the northern suburbs of the Western Australian capital city of Perth about north of Perth's central business district. The City covers an area of and has a population of over 223,000, makin ...
,
City of Bayswater
The City of Bayswater is a local government area in the Western Australian capital city of Perth, about northeast of Perth's central business district. The City covers an area of and has a population of 69,283 as at the 2021 Census. The Ci ...
and
City of Swan
The City of Swan is a local government area of Western Australia. It is in the eastern metropolitan region of Perth and includes the Swan Valley and 42 suburbs. It is centred approximately 20 km north-east of the Perth central business d ...
. The entire road is controlled by
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 ''M ...
for its entire length, and is designated as part of the Karrinyup-Morley Highway (H28).
Morley Drive commences at a traffic light intersection with Main Street on the boundary of Balcatta and Tuart Hill, with Morley Drive continuing from
Karrinyup Road
Karrinyup Road is a major east-west arterial road in the inner northern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, connecting the City of Stirling council offices, Osborne Park Hospital and Karrinyup Shopping Centre with residential estates in Inn ...
west of the intersection. further east, Morley Drive meets Wanneroo Road and then travels along the suburbs of Nollamara and Yokine for before intersecting with Flinders Street. The road is now within the suburb of Dianella, travelling through said suburb for , intersecting with Dianella Drive, Grand Promenade, Alexander Drive and The Strand. The former two intersections are standard traffic light T-junctions, while the intersection with Alexander Drive and The Strand (north-west and south-east) is designed as a
hamburger roundabout.
At Camboon and Wellington Roads, Morley Drive heads over into the City of Bayswater and the suburb of Morley. The roads runs through the suburb for , intersecting with McGilvray Avenue and Crimea Street, before ending at a
roundabout interchange
A roundabout interchange is a type of interchange between a controlled access highway, such as a motorway or freeway, and a minor road. The slip roads to and from the motorway carriageways converge at a single roundabout, which is grade-separa ...
at Tonkin Highway.
Morley Drive, and State Route 76, continue as Morley Drive East to
Caversham and the Swan Valley.
History
Morley Drive was first built during the 1970s to service the then-new inner northern suburbs of Perth. Before then, North Beach Drive was the main route to the coast in the west, as well as some similar situations in Morley, with Morley Drive being mostly discontinuous. Upon the opening of the road, which made the whole road continuous, the existing roads that were affected were made into discontinuous local roads. Also of note was Grand Promenade being cut off from what is known today as Dianella Drive. During the late 1980s, the six-way roundabout with Alexander Drive and the Strand was converted into a hamburger roundabout, resulting in The Strand becoming discontinuous. Morley Drive represented the northern terminus of the section of Tonkin Highway north of the
Swan River from 1984 until 1989, when it was extended further north to
Benara Road
Benara Road is an east–west road in the north-eastern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia.
Route description
Benara Road starts off at a roundabout with Camboon Road in Noranda as a two-lane, single carriageway road with a speed limit of ...
(Tonkin Highway became continuous in 1988).
Apart from minor modifications, Morley Drive remained relatively unchanged until 2010, when the terrain of the eastbound carriageway near McGilvray Avenue was lowered to improve road safety around that area. 2016, the Flinders Street intersection was upgraded with longer turning lanes and better pedestrian facilities. Between 2016 and 2018, as part of the
NorthLink WA
NorthLink WA was a road construction project in Perth, Western Australia, that saw both the northern section of Tonkin Highway upgraded, and the road extended northwards as the Swan Valley Bypass, to bypass Great Northern Highway. These two compon ...
road project, the intersection with Tonkin Highway was upgraded to a roundabout interchange with Tonkin Highway free-flowing over Morley Drive, a first in WA.
Videos
File:Morley Drive westbound Tonkin Highway to Crimea Street.ogv, Tonkin Highway to Crimea Street
File:Morley Drive westbound, Morley.ogv, Westbound in Morley, approaching Camboon Road
File:Morley Drive westbound to Alexander Drive southbound at hamburger roundabout.ogv, At the Alexander Drive hamburger roundabout, a "right turn" is made by turning left, then following the roundabout curve to the right
Major intersections
See also
References
{{WA road routes
, route=State Route 76
, shield={{AUshield, S, 76, size=x18px
, roads={{WA road routes/R, 76
Roads in Perth, Western Australia
Articles containing video clips