Pennant Hills Road

Pennant Hills Road, a section of Cumberland Highway, is a major urban highway located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The road links the suburb of Wahroonga in the northeast, to the major central business district of Parramatta in the southwest. It is part of route A28.

In 2015 NRMA members voted the Pennant Hills Road as the second worst road in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, with approximately 5,000 heavy vehicle movements per day. NorthConnex, a motorway tunnel opened on 31 October 2020, runs parallel to Pennant Hills Road and links the M2 Hills Motorway at with the Pacific Highway and Pacific Motorway at Wahroonga. The NorthConnex aims to reduce congestion and improve traffic flow along part of the Pennant Hills Road, reducing air and traffic pollution.

Route

The road begins in the northern suburb of Wahroonga at Pearce's Corner, the intersection with Pacific Highway, north-west of the Sydney CBD, and south-east of Hornsby. The southern end of Pacific Motorway (M1) and the northern end of NorthConnex both have exits a few hundred metres south of Pearce's Corner at an intersection with Pennant Hills Road. From here, the road passes through the Hornsby Shire suburbs of Normanhurst, Thornleigh and Pennant Hills. In Thornleigh there is a major intersection with The Comenarra Parkway, an arterial road which begins as Yanko Road in West Pymble. In the evening this intersection can get quite busy, and is often characterised by bumper to bumper traffic on the Comenarra Parkway, as motorists attempt to turn either left or right onto Pennant Hills Road. The Parkway has become somewhat of a through route from the North Shore suburbs as well as the City, with some motorists choosing to avoid Epping Road and M2 Hills Motorway and travel west through the Parkway.

At Pennant Hills, the highway crosses the Northern Railway Line, intersects with Yarrara Road and Boundary Road, heading west, after which is located a major intersection with Beecroft Road. The highway then heads west, then southwest, towards Thompson's Corner, in West Pennant Hills, where there is a major intersection with Castle Hill Road. In the mid 1990s, a tunnel was built beneath the intersection which allows traffic from Castle Hill Road to turn onto Pennant Hills Road, going southbound, without negotiating the traffic lights. This also means that southbound traffic already on Pennant Hills Road rarely has to stop at the Thompson's Corner intersection, only if pedestrians are crossing.

The highway continues south to the interchange with M2 Hills Motorway and the southern end of NorthConnex, then continues south through Carlingford and the intersection with North Rocks Road and to the intersection with Carlingford Road. South of the Carlingford Road intersection lies the intersection with Marsden Road, and the highway then continues southwest towards Parramatta, crossing the Carlingford Railway Line, through the suburbs of Telopea and North Parramatta, where the major intersection with James Ruse Drive lies. Pennant Hills Road forms part of Cumberland Highway until the intersection with James Ruse Drive where it relinquishes that designation to the latter road. The highway then continues southwest into Parramatta where it terminates at the intersection with Church Street.

The highway is a four-lane road from Pearce's Corner for the short distance to the M1 intersection. From the M1 intersection the highway is a six-lane highway for the entire distance to the M2 Motorway intersection. From here, the road reverts to being a four-lane road for the rest of the distance to Parramatta, with short third lanes at various points in each direction. There are numerous "school zones" (8:00am–9:30am and 2:30pm–4:00pm) and there are two fixed speed cameras, between Evans Road and Coleman Avenue in Carlingford and between Castle Street and Bellevue Street in North Parramatta. Both are zones.

Pennant Hills Road frontage is a mix of businesses, schools and homes. The biggest concentration of businesses are at Thornleigh, Pennant Hills, West Pennant Hills (Thompson's Corner) and Carlingford, with the Carlingford area being the biggest.

History

Pennant Hills Road began its life in 1820 as a bullock track used by timbermen. It was surveyed by government surveyor James Meehan in order to provide a route from Ermington Wharf to the Pennant Hills sawmill established by Governor Lachlan Macquarie in 1816. The line of the original track, from Thompsons Corner to Ermington Wharf, is followed by Pennant Hills Road, Marsden Road, and Wharf Road Ermington. Subsequently, it joined the Lane Cove Road (now the Pacific Highway) further north and was sometimes considered the same road. It has been allocated several route numbers over the years, shown in the Infobox on the right.

The passing of the ''Main Roads Act of 1924'' through the Parliament of New South Wales provided for the declaration of Main Roads, roads partially funded by the State government through the Main Roads Board (later the Department of Main Roads, and eventually Transport for NSW). Main Road No. 13 was declared on 8 August 1928, from the intersection with Great Southern Highway (today Hume Highway) at Lansdwone, via Woodville Road, Church Street through Parramatta, and Pennant Hills Road to the intersection with Great Northern Highway (today Pacific Highway) at Pearce's Corner in Hornsby; with the passing of the ''Main Roads (Amendment) Act of 1929'' to provide for additional declarations of State Highways and Trunk Roads, this was amended to State Highway 13 on 8 April 1929.

Pennant Hills Road was declared as part of Cumberland Highway upon its completion in 1988; despite this, much signage today still identifies much of this constituent road under its own name.

The passing of the ''Roads Act of 1993'' updated road classifications and the way they could be declared within New South Wales. Under this act, and as part of Cumberland Highway, Pennant Hills Road today retains its declaration as Highway 13, from Wahroonga to Parramatta (and continuing southwest along Cumberland Highway eventually to Liverpool).

Traffic congestion

Pennant Hills Road has always been the main road north from Parramatta to Hornsby, but with traffic from major arterial roads of James Ruse Drive, Marsden Road, Carlingford Road, North Rocks Road, Castle Hill Road, Beecroft Road, The Comenarra Parkway and the Pacific Highway adding to that, plus the relatively recent additions of the M2 Motorway and the M1 Motorway extension to Wahroonga, the highway can get quite congested during the morning and afternoon peaks and is often characterised by the heavy population of trucks and other logistic vehicles. Pennant Hills Road is the only direct road linking the M1 and the M2, forcing interstate commercial traffic, travellers, and commuters to all compete for passage with local Hornsby Shire traffic. The average traffic flow on Pennant Hills Rd, according to a 2002 survey by the RTA, was 62,656, with the busiest area occurring around Thompsons Corner.

Plans to link the M1 with a planned North West Freeway were shelved in the late 20th century. Recently the Government has been examining a number of options to link the M1 with the M2 motorway as part of a motorway standard Sydney Bypass.

After undergoing significant studies the government constructed an M1-M2 link, dubbed the NorthConnex. Opened on 31 October 2020, the NorthConnex will help alleviate traffic travelling between Western Sydney and the Central Coast.

Pennant Hills Road regulation

Since the opening of NorthConnex on 31 October 2020, a fine of 194 with no demerit points will be imposed on truck and bus drivers who use the Pennant Hills Road instead of the new tolled tunnel, detected using gantries on either side of Pennant Hills Road. The fine only applies to drivers of trucks and buses over 12.5 metres long or over 2.8 metres clearance height, with the exception of vehicles transporting dangerous goods and oversize vehicles approved to use Pennant Hills Road.

Former route allocations

Pennant Hills Road has many former route allocations sine 1964. With the conversion to the newer alphanumeric system in 2013, much of the differing allocations were replaced with route A28 between Wahroonga and North Parramatta. Where and when the former route numbers were implemented are stated below.

''Wahroonga – West Pennant Hills''
* Ring Road 5
* State Route 55 Former NSW State Route 55
''Ozroads'', Retrieved on 10 June 2013.
* State Route 77
* Metroad 7
* A28
''Pennant Hills – West Pennant Hills''
* Ring Road 5
* State Route 55
* State Route 77
* Metroad 7
* State Route 30
* Metroad 2
* A28
''West Pennant Hills – Carlingford''
* Ring Road 5
* State Route 55
* State Route 77
* Metroad 7
* Metroad 6
* A28
''Carlingford – North Parramatta''
* Ring Road 5
* State Route 55
* State Route 77
* Metroad 7
*unallocated
* A28
''North Parramatta – Parramatta''
* Ring Road 5
* State Route 55
*unallocated

Gallery

See also

*NorthConnex

References

External links

Hornsby Shire Council - Planning and Development - Pennant Hills Road: the options

{{Streets of Sydney Australia , state=expanded

Highways in Sydney
Streets in Sydney
The Hills Shire