The Perimeter Road, also known as the Margaret River Perimeter Road,
is a highway bypass of
Margaret River, Western Australia
Margaret River is a town in the South West of Western Australia, located in the valley of the eponymous Margaret River, south of Perth, the state capital. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Augusta-Margaret River.
Margaret River's coast ...
. The road deviates
Bussell Highway
Bussell Highway is a generally north–south highway in the South West region of Western Australia. The highway links the city of Bunbury with the town of Augusta and is approximately in length. The highway is signed ''State Route 10'', exce ...
traffic, including
heavy vehicle
A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame constructio ...
s, to the east of the town, and connects to a new
airport
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...
access road. It is planned to eventually be a dual carriageway, but has initially been constructed as a single carriageway, in two stages.
Construction of stage one, from south of Margaret River to Rosa Brook Road,
began in December 2014 and was completed in May 2015.
Construction of stage two – the remaining northern section
– began in September 2017 and was completed in February 2019, with an opening in December 2018.
An extension of John Archibald Drive and the redevelopment of Bussell Highway in the town were included in the business case for constructing stage two.
Stage two of the project received $60 million of funding from
The Nationals Western Australia
The National Party of Australia (WA) Inc, branded The Nationals WA, is a List of Australian political parties, political party in Western Australia. It is affiliated with the National Party of Australia but maintains a separate structure and id ...
to enable a complete bypass to be constructed, rather than a "road to nowhere". The state government provided the $13 million to construct stage one. The total cost was $47.6 million.
The project underwent an Environmental Impact Assessment and Aboriginal Heritage survey. Action was taken to compensate for the loss of native vegetation,
and a zoologist was employed to identify and relocate native fauna at the start of stage one construction.
The perimeter road has been designed to reduce congestion, improve safety for the many pedestrians, including tourists, who use the road, and provide heavy vehicles with a lesser gradient to ascend or descend.
References
{{reflist
Highways in rural Western Australia
Margaret River, Western Australia