Henry Lawson Drive is an urban two-lane road located in Sydney,
New South Wales
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, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
, Australia. The road's northwestern terminus is at the Hume Highway and Woodville Road at the "
Meccano Set
The Meccano Set is an overhead gantry located above a busy controlled at-grade road intersection located at the boundary between and in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The intersection is a junction where the Hume Highway, Henry Lawson Dr ...
" in , with its southeastern terminus at Forest Road and Jacques Avenue
Peakhurst
Peakhurst is a suburb in Southern Sydney, or the St George Area, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 21 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district. Peakhurst is in the local government area of the Georges River Counci ...
. The road is named in honour of
Henry Lawson
Henry Archibald Hertzberg Lawson (17 June 1867 – 2 September 1922) was an Australian writer and bush poet. Along with his contemporary Banjo Paterson, Lawson is among the best-known Australian poets and fiction writers of the colonial perio ...
(1867-1922), one of Australia's foremost poets.
It is designated as Main Road 508 for administrative purposes. In 1964, on its completion, it was signposted as part of ring road 5, replaced by state route 55 in 1974. The maximum elevation of the road is AMSL and at its lowest point it is AMSL. Other than at its eastern end from Alfords Point Road to Forest Road it is constructed as a single two-lane carriageway.
History
Henry Lawson Drive was conceived of as a scenic drive to follow the north bank of the Georges River. In its planning stages it was known as George's River feeder road. It was named Henry Lawson Drive in 1949. Most of the route (from Hume Hwy to The River Road) was built in the period 1946-1955, with some sections in
Georges Hall
Georges Hall, a suburb of local government area City of Canterbury-Bankstown, is located 24 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district in the state of New South Wales, Australia, and is part of the South-western Sydney regio ...
,
Milperra
Milperra, a suburb of local government area City of Canterbury-Bankstown, is located 24 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the state of New South Wales, Australia, and is a part of the South Western Sydney region.
...
Peakhurst
Peakhurst is a suburb in Southern Sydney, or the St George Area, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 21 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district. Peakhurst is in the local government area of the Georges River Counci ...
utilising pre-existing but unsealed roads. In 1963, following the closure of the Morgans Creek landfill waste disposal site at the southern end of The River Road, Henry Lawson Drive was extended to
Padstow Heights
Padstow Heights, a suburb of local government area City of Canterbury-Bankstown, located 23 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is a part of the South-western Sydney regi ...
with the completion of the bridge over Little Salt Pan Creek. In September 1964 the final section was completed with the opening of the bridge over
Salt Pan Creek
Salt Pan Creek is an urban watercourse of the Georges River catchment, located in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney, in New South Wales, Australia.
Course and features
Salt Pan Creek rises west southwest of the suburb of Mount Lewis, w ...
, connecting the road via what had formerly been Hymen Street to Forest Road in Peakhurst. In 1975 the T-intersection with Forest Road at the eastern terminus was reconfigured so that the route from Henry Lawson Drive to Forest Road northbound became the through route. Widening of the section from Alfords Point Road to Forest Road occurred incrementally, initially by reconfiguring pavement markings and construction of a westbound overtaking lane. It was later widened to four lanes in places and then six lanes. This work was completed in conjunction with the duplication of the Salt Pan Creek Bridge.
Future Route Development
, the road had high congestion levels and the City of Canterbury-Bankstown has been trying to overcome this.
In 2020 funding was allocated for the first of three stages of upgrading, from Auld Ave to Tower Road at Milperra (ie increasing the capacity of its junction with Milperra and Newbridge Roads). Subsequent stages are intended to see duplication to dual two-lane carriageways from the Hume Highway to the M5 tollway.