Ocean Reef Road is an arterial east-west 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. It is located within the northern suburbs of Perth, from Ocean Reef in the west, to Landsdale in the east, with a portion travelling northwards along the coast to Iluka.

History

Up until the mid-1970s the road from Wanneroo Road was named Mullaloo Drive between Wanneroo Road and Craigie Drive/Coyle Road. Mullaloo Drive took the course and road names of today from Wanneroo Road (at Villa Nova) along Mangano Place, Backshall Place, Ocean Reef Road up to Wildlife Place, continuing over the current Mitchell Freeway into Coyle Road, Craigie Drive, Kallaroo Place and then Mullaloo Drive joining Oceanside Promenade at Mullaloo. From the mid-1970s Ocean Reef Road was so named and constructed from a point approximately west of today's Edgewater Drive up to Marmion Avenue (heading in a north-westerly fashion from the aforementioned point). Ocean Reef Road between Backshall Place and Wanneroo Road took at slightly different course south, from the original Mullaloo Drive. Then as the suburb of Ocean Reef was built in the 1980s and the Ocean Reef marina were built, Ocean Reef Road was extended this far. During the 1980s the Joondalup Drive intersection was opened. Ocean Reef Road was the northern terminus of the Mitchell Freeway for eleven years from 1988 to 1999. In the 1990s at the Wanneroo Road end, the road was extended to Hartman Drive near Wangara. The Mitchell Freeway terminated here in the early 1990s. After 1996 Ocean Reef Road was joined to Hodges Drive. In 2006 Ocean Reef Road was extended along the coast from Hodges Drive to Shenton Avenue. The works to duplicate Ocean Reef Road between Wanneroo Road and Hartman Drive into a dual-carriageway road was to be completed in May 2008. As part of the Federal Government's AusLink Strategic Regional Program, Ocean Reef Road was extended east to

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 ...

. This work was carried out in two stages. First, from Hartman Drive to Prestige Parade (completed March 2009), and secondly, from Prestige Parade to Alexander Drive (commenced in April 2011 and was scheduled to be completed in February 2012). The construction of this stage also affected the alignment and layout of Gnangara Road, as the former section of Gnangara Road from Coverwood Promenade to Alexander Drive now forms part of Ocean Reef Road. Gnangara Road's western section now terminates at Mirrabooka Avenue (formerly Madeley Street), with the remaining section retained as part of the local road network. Between 2019 and 2020 works were conducted to convert Ocean Reef Road’s intersection with

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 ...

to a grade separated interchange, which involves Wanneroo Road free-flowing over traffic light controlled intersections at Ocean Reef Road.

Route description

Ocean Reef Road commences at the intersection of the southern and eastern legs of

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 High ...

and Sydney Road in Landsdale, with Ocean Reef Road continuous with the eastern leg of Gnangara Road, and terminates at the roundabout with

Shenton Avenue Shenton Avenue is an east-west distributor road in the northern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, located within the City of Joondalup. The road primarily links Joondalup's coastal suburbs with the Joondalup central business district, which ...

in Ocean Reef, continuing northwards as

Burns Beach Road Burns Beach Road is an arterial east-west road in Perth, Western Australia, linking the suburbs of Burns Beach and Iluka to the Mitchell Freeway and Joondalup. It forms the entirety of State Route 87 and was the northern terminus of Mitchell ...

. The road is a four-lane dual carriageway for almost its entire length, with the exception of the northwards parts running parallel with the coast, where the road is a two-lane single carriageway between Swanson Way and

Hodges Drive Hodges Drive is a main west–east road in Joondalup, north of Perth, Western Australia. It begins in the suburb of Ocean Reef at a T-junction with Ocean Reef Road and runs through the residential areas in Ocean Reef, Connolly and Heathridge, ...

, though it widens to a two-lane divided carriageway for the remainder of its length. It predominantly carries an speed limit, which reduces to at Trappers Drive, and then to from Hodges Drives to its northwestern terminus. The entire length of the road forms part of State Route 84, along with the eastern section of

City of Wanneroo

Ocean Reef Road commences at a traffic light intersection with the southern and eastern legs of Gnangara Road and Sydney Road. Ocean Reef Road is continuous with the eastern leg of Gnangara Road, while Sydney Road is continuous with the southern leg of Gnangara Road, which also leads to

Mirrabooka Avenue Mirrabooka Avenue is a major north-south road located in the northern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia. It is a four-lane dual carriageway for its entire length. It mainly passes through residential areas, as well as industrial areas on the ...

. The road travels west for to an interchange with Wanneroo Road, during which it borders the suburbs of Wangara, Gnangara, and Pearsall, and intersects with Hartman Drive and Lenore Road at a traffic light controlled intersection. At Ocean Reef Road’s interchange with Wanneroo Road, Wanneroo Road is free-flowing over traffic light controlled intersections at Ocean Reef Road. Ocean Reef Road then travels through the suburbs of Woodvale and

Wanneroo Wanneroo is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located within the City of Wanneroo. Geography As it is on the Swan Coastal Plain, the Wanneroo wetlands stretch parallel to the coastline and to the north and south of the suburb. Education W ...

, as well as the

Yellagonga Regional Park Yellagonga Regional Park is in Perth, Western Australia, in the City of Wanneroo and the City of Joondalup. The park was established in 1989 by the Western Australian government and protects of land, including of Wanneroo wetlands – incl ...

reserve for up until the southern part

Lake Joondalup Lake Joondalup is a medium-sized freshwater lake in Perth, Western Australia. It is in the Perth northern suburbs of Joondalup, Wanneroo, and Edgewater. It is a nature reserve and part of the Yellagonga Regional Park. Description Lake Joondal ...

, where the road transfers into the

City of Joondalup The City of Joondalup is a local government area in Perth, Western Australia. Its central business district is located in the suburb Joondalup, and it includes the town centres of Hillarys and Warwick. History Prior to the 1970s, the region n ...

local government area.

City of Joondalup

Ocean Reef Road, now within the City of Joondalup, continues to border Woodvale to the south but now borders Edgewater to the north. The road intersects with Trappers Drive and Edgewater Drive (the former of which is signalised), encountering a traffic light controlled T-junction with

Joondalup Drive Joondalup Drive is a major distributor road in the northern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia. The road travels through the City of Joondalup's central business district and extends for a few kilometres east through neighbouring residential ...

from the City of Joondalup and Wanneroo boundaries. Only another later takes the road to the

Mitchell Freeway The Mitchell Freeway is a freeway in the northern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, linking central Perth with the city of Joondalup. It is the northern section of State Route 2, which continues south as Kwinana Freeway and Forrest High ...

at a standard diamond interchange. Following the freeway interchange, Ocean Reef Road is now bordering both Beldon and Heathridge, intersecting with local roads such as Eddystone Drive and Craigie Drive, bringing the road to Marmion Avenue after . The road then runs through Mullaloo and Ocean Reef for before encountering a roundabout with Northshore Drive, at the northern terminus of Tourist Drive 204. Following this, Ocean Reef Road curves northwards and, now within the suburb of Ocean Reef, also starts to run parallel with the coastline. After the road promptly reduces to a two-lane single carriageway at Swanson Way, though the carriageways separate at Hodges Drive another later. Between the two roads there is an entrance to the Ocean Reef Boat Harbour. The road continues to run parallel to the coastline as a two-lane divided carriageway through Ocean Reef for about before terminating at Shelton Avenue at Iluka. Ocean Reef Road continues northwards as Burns Beach Road and State Route 87 from this point.

Major intersections

* Shenton Avenue east / Burns Beach Road (State Route 87) north, Ocean Reef and Iluka * Hodges Drive, Ocean Reef * Oceanside Promenade (Tourist Drive 204), Ocean Reef and Mullaloo * Marmion Avenue (State Route 71), Ocean Reef, Mullaloo, Heathridge and Beldon * Eddystone Avenue, Heathridge and Beldon * Craigie Drive, Beldon * Mitchell Freeway (State Route 2), - Heathridge, Beldon, Edgewater and Woodvale * Joondalup Drive (State Route 85), Edgewater * Edgewater Drive, Edgewater * Trappers Drive, Woodvale * Wanneroo Road (State Route 60), Wanneroo, Woodvale, Pearsall and Wangara * Hartman Drive south / Lenore Road north, Wangara and Pearsall * Gnangara Road (State Route 83 southwest / State Route 84 southeast) / Sydney Road northeast, Gnangara and Landsdale – southwest to Mirrabooka Avenue / southeast to

References