NorthLink WA was a road construction project 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 saw both the northern section of

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 ...

upgraded, and the road extended northwards as the Swan Valley Bypass, to bypass

Great Northern Highway Great Northern Highway is an Australian highway that links Western Australia's capital city Perth with its northernmost port, Wyndham. With a length of almost , it is the longest highway in Australia, with the majority included as part of the ...

. These two component projects were separately funded, with both the state and federal governments contributing to each project. Construction commenced in June 2016 and was completed on 23 April 2020.

Tonkin Highway upgrade

The

federal government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...

has allocated $140.6 million to grade-separate Tonkin Highway's intersections with Benara Road,

Morley Drive Morley Drive is a major east-west road in the inner northern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, connecting the residential areas of Balcatta, Osborne Park, Tuart Hill, Nollamara, Yokine, Dianella, and Morley with major north-south arteria ...

and Collier Road. The funding is part of the five-year phase of the Nation Building Program from 2014–15 to 2018–19. The upgrades are intended to improve freight transportation along the highway. The total cost is expected to be $281.2 million. In the lead up to the

2013 Australian federal election The 2013 Australian federal election to elect the members of the 44th Parliament of Australia took place on 7 September 2013. The centre-right Liberal/National Coalition opposition led by Opposition leader Tony Abbott of the Liberal Party of Aus ...

, which resulted in a change a government, the

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the la ...

candidate for

Alannah MacTiernan Alannah Joan Geraldine Cecilia MacTiernan (born 10 January 1953) is an Australian politician. Since 1988, she has served in politics at a federal, state, and local level, including as a minister in the Western Australian state governments of Ge ...

, accused the then-

opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * '' The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Com ...

's candidate of lying to the electorate over their commitment to the upgrade. The official policy costings did not contain specific funding for the project. However, an opposition spokesperson claimed it was "in the current forward estimates", and not in the costing, as the upgrade was neither a "new and accelerated" project, nor a project that would definitely not be funded.

Swan Valley Bypass

The

Perth Darwin National Highway Great Northern Highway is an Australian highway that links Western Australia's capital city Perth with its northernmost port, Wyndham. With a length of almost , it is the longest highway in Australia, with the majority included as part of the ...

(PDNH) Swan Valley Bypass is a highway built to bypass the

within Perth. From the junction of

Reid Highway Reid Highway is a east-west highway and partial freeway in the northern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, linking North Beach with Middle Swan. As part of State Route 3, it forms half of Perth's outer ring road along with Roe Highway, wh ...

and

at Malaga, it heads north towards Ellenbrook, and continues on to Great Northern Highway and

Brand Highway Brand Highway is a main highway linking the northern outskirts of Perth to Geraldton in Western Australia. Together with North West Coastal Highway, it forms part of the Western Australian coastal link to the Northern Territory. The highw ...

in Muchea. The previously planned route of the PDNH, prior to 2012, followed Lord Street, east of

Whiteman Park Whiteman Park is a bushland area located north of Perth, Western Australia. The park is in the suburb of Whiteman, in the Swan Valley in the upper reaches of the Swan River. It encompasses the source of Bennett Brook - an important place o ...

. The state and federal governments allocated funding to the project, with contracts for the central section awarded to the Great Northern Connect Team on 12 January 2017, and contracts for the northern section awarded to

CPB Contractors CIMIC Group Limited (formerly Leighton Holdings) is an Australian construction contractor. It is active in the telecommunications, engineering and infrastructure, building and property, mining and resources, and environmental services industries ...

on 30 January 2017. Construction started on the central section on 12 June 2017, and construction on the northern section planned to start late 2017. Construction was completed on 23 April 2020.

Route

Central section

This section starts at the Reid Highway/Tonkin Highway interchange, which will be upgraded to a cloverstack interchange. Following, to the north, is the Marshall Road flyover, then a two-level roundabout interchange with Hepburn Avenue and Beechboro Road North. Onwards from there is the Baal Street flyover, then at the planned interchange with the Whiteman/Yanchep Highway, the highway veers northeast, meeting up with a

partial cloverleaf interchange A partial cloverleaf interchange or parclo is a modification of a cloverleaf interchange. The design has been well received, and has since become one of the most popular freeway-to-arterial interchange designs in North America. It has also bee ...

with

Gnangara Road Gnangara Road is an arterial east-west road in Perth, Western Australia. It is located within the northern suburbs of Perth, from Madeley in the west, to Henley Brook in the east. Gnangara Road provides a connection between Great Northern Hig ...

. The highway then follows the edge of Ellenbrook, having a two-level roundabout interchange with The Promenade.

Northern section

This section was originally planned to be a 2 lane single carriageway with at-grade intersections, but because costs went down, it was changed so it can be constructed as a 4 lane dual carriageway with grade separated interchanges. Continuing on from the roundabout interchange with The Promenade in Ellenbrook, it goes north, passing built up areas in Ellenbrook, then going through rural areas. Along the way are roundabout interchanges with Stock Road and Neaves Road, and a flyover over Muchea South Road and the Midland railway line, and the current

, before ending at a roundabout interchange with

and a new Brand Highway.

References

External links

*
Main Roads Western Australia project page
{{coord missing, Western Australia Transport in Perth, Western Australia