Road Photos & Information: Western Australia: Forrest Highway, Kwinana Freeway & Mitchell Freeway (State Route 2)

Road Photos & Information: Western Australia

Forrest Highway, Kwinana Freeway & Mitchell Freeway (State Route 2) - The Spectacles To Baldivis

Statistics:

Length: 140 km (Kwinana Fwy: 73 km) (The Spectacles to Baldivis: 13 km)
Northern Terminus: Burns Beach Road (SR87) at Currambine
Southern Terminus: Old Coast Road (NR1) at Lake Clifton
Suburbs, Towns & Localities Along Route: Casuarina, Bertram, Wellard and Baldivis

Route Numbering:

Current:
Road Authority Internal Classification: H15 Kwinana Freeway 1

General Information:

The Forrest Highway, along with the Kwinana and Mitchell Freeways, are without a doubt one of the most important road systems in the Perth metropolitan area, and the southwestern part of the state.

Running in a north-south direction, the freeways link the north and southern suburbs of Perth together plus the southern city of Mandurah and the state's southwest, but also act as a coastal link between the northern and southern parts of the state. Built in stages from the late 1950s the route has seen enormous changes / extensions and is continuously undergoing expansion to this day.

Unique to the freeway sections is the passenger railway line down the median of the road corridor, which in parts also travels alongside other modes of public transport such as buses.

The route varies from 2 to 3 lanes wide in each direction, with provision in most of the newer sections to have another 1 to 2 lanes to be added when required. Exits along the route are somewhat close together, this is probably due to the large number of suburbs state route 2 services, south of Baldivis, the spacings are longer.

When first planned, the Mitchell Fwy was called the Yanchep Highway, as its envisaged that eventually the route will connect to the town.

History:

1957: Commencement of construction of the Narrows Bridge and first stage of the Kwinana Fwy. 2
1967: Construction of the Kwinana Freeway in inner southern Perth suburbs. 2
3 December 1976: South Perth interchange opened. 6
1975: Additional land reserved for the future extension of the Kwinana Fwy. 3
19 July 1979: Kwinana Freeway / Canning interchange including Manning Road Bridge fully operational. 6
October 1980: Narrows Bridge median lane opened to Northbound traffic. 6
29 March 1982: Narrows Bridge median lane opened to southbound peak traffic, thus becoming a reversible lane. 6
9 May 1982: Mt Henry Bridge and Kwinana Freeway extension (6.5 km) from Canning Bridge to South Street opened. 6
February 1987: Introduction of bus lanes. 2
18 December 1989: Kwinana Fwy bus lane Canning Bridge to city opened. 6
14 July 1991: Kwinana Freeway from South St to Farrington Rd opened. 6
12 December 1991: Kwinana Freeway from Farrington Rd to Forrest Rd opened. 6
November 1991: Kwinana Freeway bus lane extended from Canning Bridge to Mt Henry Bridge. 6
11 September 1994: Extension of Kwinana Freeway from Forrest Road to Thomas Road Kwinana opened on by Kim Beazley. 2
1999-2001: Construction of the South West Metropolitan Railway down the centre of the freeway alignment - this was done by relocating 16 kilometres of existing northbound carriageway 15 metres westwards. Also part of the works was the construction of a 12km freeway extension southwards from Thomas Road to Safety Bay Road, including interchanges at Mortimer and Mundijong Road & Kulija Road and freeway overpasses at Millar Road. 5
12 March 2006: the connection of the Roe Highway Stage 7, from South Street to the Kwinana Freeway, officially opened to traffic. 6
December 2006: Works commence on the Kwinana Freeway Extension from Safety Bay Road (SR18) Interchange at Baldivis to Pinjarra Road at North Yunderup. 7
20 September 2009: Completion of the 70 km Perth to Bunbury Highway project (Kwinana Fwy / Forrest Hwy) - bypassing the heavily populated areas in Mandurah and the Dawesville Peninsula, and avoiding the inland communities on South Western Highway. The route is freeway standard from Safety Bay Road to Pinjarra Road with the remainder of the route built as a divided rural highway. In the future as traffic demands increase, the highway will be upgraded to a freeway standard for its entire length. 6

Click here for construction photos in the Baldivis area.
Click here for the former alignment in the Baldivis area.

Baldivis to The Spectacles		The Spectacles To Baldivis
Preview:	Description:	Preview:	Description:
	Advance Directional Sign: AD sign at Baldivis approaching the service centre, April 2016. Image © Paul Rands		Advance Exit Sign: Advance exit sign for Mortimer Road at Casuarina. December 2012. Image © Paul Rands
	Advance Directional Sign: AD sign at Baldivis approaching the service centre, April 2016. Image © Paul Rands		Mortimer Rd Exit: Southbound through the Mortimer Road interchange. December 2012. Image © Paul Rands
	Advance Directional Sign: AD sign at Baldivis approaching the service centre, April 2016. Image © Paul Rands		Mortimer Rd Interchange: Southbound through the Mortimer Road interchange, with distance sign to major roads. April 2016. Click here for a photo of this location by Paul Rands from December 2012. Click here for a photo of this location by Paul Rands from January 2009 by Tim Cole. Image © Paul Rands
	Service Centre: Kwinana Fwy (SR2) at the service centre at Baldivis, April 2016. Image © Paul Rands		Distance Sign: RD sign at Casuarina after the Mortimer Rd interchange. September 2009. Image © Tim Cole
	Service Centre: Kwinana Fwy (SR2) at the service centre at Baldivis, April 2016. Image © Paul Rands		Advance Directional Sign: AD sign at Casuarina for the service centre at Baldivis, April 2016. Image © Paul Rands
	Distance Sign: RD sign at Baldivis. April 2016. Click here for a photo of this location by Paul Rands from December 2012. Click here for a photo of this location by Tim Cole from September 2009. Image © Paul Rands		Walley Bridge: Southbound at Wellard approaching Walley Bridge which crosses a railway and also Telephone Lane and Millar Road, December 2012. Image © Paul Rands
	Variable Message Sign: One of the VMS gantries on Kwinana Fwy. Baldivis, September 2009. Image © Tim Cole		Advance Exit Sign: Advance exit sign for Mundijong Road & Kulija Road at Baldivis. April 2016. Click here for a photo of this location by Paul Rands from December 2012. Click here for a photo of this location by Paul Rands from December 2007. Image © Paul Rands
	Advance Directional Sign : AD sign approaching the Safety Bay Rd (SR18) interchange at Baldivis, April 2016. Click here for a photo of this location by Paul Rands from December 2012. Image © Paul Rands		RD Sign: Distance sign located just before Mundijong Road & Kulija Road at Baldivis. April 2016. Click here for a photo of this location by Paul Rands from December 2012. Click here for a photo of this location by Paul Rands from December 2007. Image © Paul Rands
	Safety Bay Road Interchange: Kwinana Fwy heading north at Baldivis at the Safety Bay Rd (SR18) interchange. April 2016. Click here for a photo of this location by Paul Rands from December 2012. Click here for a photo of this location by Tim Cole from September 2009. Image © Paul Rands		Mundijong Road & Kulija Road Exit: Southbound at Mundijong Road & Kulija Road interchange at Baldivis. April 2016. Click here for a photo of this location by Paul Rands from December 2012. Image © Paul Rands
	Safety Bay Road Interchange: Kwinana Fwy heading north at Baldivis at the Safety Bay Rd (SR18) interchange. December 2012. Image © Paul Rands		Distance Sign: Sign detailing distances to the next few major roads, southbound at Baldivis in the Mundijong Rd & Kulija Rd interchange. December 2012. Click here for a photo of this location by Paul Rands from December 2007. Image © Paul Rands
	Distance Sign: RD sign at Baldivis after the Safety Bay Rd interchange. April 2016. Click here for a photo of this location by Paul Rands from December 2012. Image © Paul Rands		Advance Directional Sign: AD sign at Baldivis approaching the service centre, April 2016. Image © Paul Rands
	Distance Sign: RD sign at Baldivis, December 2012. Image © Paul Rands		Service Centre: Kwinana Fwy (SR2) at the service centre at Baldivis, April 2016. Image © Paul Rands
	Advance Exit Sign: Advance exit signs for Mundijong Road & Kulija Road at Baldivis. April 2016. Click here for a photo of this location by Paul Rands from December 2007. Image © Paul Rands		Service Centre: Kwinana Fwy (SR2) at the service centre at Baldivis, April 2016. Image © Paul Rands
	Mundijong Rd & Kulija Rd Exit: Looking northbound through the Mundijong Road & Kulija Road interchange at Baldivis, April 2016. Click here for a photo of this location by Paul Rands from December 2007. Image © Paul Rands		Advance Directional Sign: AD sign at Baldivis approaching Safety Bay Road (SR18). December 2012. Click here for a photo of this location by Tim Cole from September 2009. Image © Paul Rands
	Exit Distance Sign: Looking northbound through the Mundijong Road & Kulija Road interchange at Baldivis, December 2007. Image © Paul Rands		Safety Bay Road Interchange: Kwinana Fwy southbound at Baldivis at the Safety Bay Rd (SR18) interchange. December 2012. Click here for a photo of this location by Tim Cole from September 2009. Image © Paul Rands
	Walley Bridge: Northbound at Baldivis approaching Walley Bridge which crosses a railway and also Telephone Lane and Millar Road, December 2012. Image © Paul Rands		Safety Bay Road Interchange: Kwinana Fwy southbound at Baldivis at the Safety Bay Rd (SR18) interchange. December 2012. Image © Paul Rands
	Advance Exit Sign: Northbound at Wellard approaching Mortimer Road, December 2007. Image © Paul Rands		Distance Sign: RD sign after the Safety Bay Road (SR18) interchange at Baldivis. December 2012. Click here for a photo of this location by Tim Cole from September 2009. Image © Paul Rands
	Mortimer Road Exit: Northbound at the interchange with Mortimer Road at Wellard, December 2007. Image © Paul Rands		Advance Directional Sign: AD sign at Baldivis approaching Karnup Road. December 2012. Click here for a photo of this location by Tim Cole from September 2009. Image © Paul Rands
	Exit Distance Sign: Northbound RD in the Mortimer Road interchange at Wellard, December 2012. Image © Paul Rands		Distance Sign: RD sign on Kwinana Fwy at Baldivis before the Karnup Rd interchange. September 2009. Image © Tim Cole
	Supplemental Advance Directional Sign: Looking northbound at Bertram as you approach the the Thomas Road (SR21) interchange. April 2018. Click here for a photo of this location by Paul Rands from November 2012. Image © Paul Rands		Karnup Road Interchange: Kwinana Fwy at the Karnup Rd interchange at Baldivis, November 2012. Click here for a photo of this location by Tim Cole from September 2009. Image © Paul Rands
	Advance Directional Sign: Looking northbound at Bertram as you approach the Thomas Road (SR21) interchange. April 2018. Click here for a photo of this location by Paul Rands from November 2012. Click here for a photo of this location by Paul Rands from December 2007. Image © Paul Rands		Karnup Road Interchange: Kwinana Fwy at the Karnup Rd interchange at Baldivis. September 2009. Image © Tim Cole
	Thmoas Road Interchange: SR21 interchange at Bertram, April 2018. Click here for a photo of this location by Paul Rands from December 2012. Click here for a photo of this location by Paul Rands from December 2007. Image © Paul Rands
	Thomas Road Interchange: SR21 interchange and exit distance sign at Bertram, December 2007. Image © Paul Rands
Click here for the continuation of SR2 between Baldivis and South Yunderup Click here for the continuation of SR2 in the The Spectacles to North Lake

1 Main Roads WA Metropolitan Road Fact Sheet, 31 March 2008
2 State Library of Western Australia
3 Australasian Legal Information Institute
4 National Library of Australia
5 Australian Institute of Project Management
6 Main Roads WA
7 Southern Gateway Alliance Fact Sheet - Project Facts 01

Last updated: 24-Jul-2020 12:50

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