Statistics:
- Length:
- 55 km
- Termini:
- Northern: Yanchep Beach Rd (unnumbered) and Marmion Av (unnumbered), Yanchep
- Southern: Stirling Hwy (SR5) and Osborne Pde (unnumbered), Cottesloe
- Suburbs, Towns & Localities Along Route:
- Cottesloe, Swanbourne, City Beach, Scarborough, Trigg, Karrinyup, North Beach, Watermans Bay, Carine, Marmion, Duncraig, Sorrento, Hillarys, Padbury, Kallaroo, Craigie, Mullaloo, Beldon, Ocean Reef, Heathridge, Connolly, Iluka, Currambine, Burns Beach, Kinross, Mindarie, Tamala Park, Clarkson, Quinns Rocks, Merriwa, Butler, Jindalee, Alkimos, Eglinton and Yanchep
Route Numbering:
- Current: 71
- Multiplexed with: 204
- Road Authority Internal Classification: 1
- H036 (Cottesloe to Trigg)
- H029 (Trigg to Yanchep)
General Information:
State Route 71 is a significant north-south route that runs more or less parallel with the coastline and connects some of Perth's oldest suburbs with its newest.
West Coast Highway:
West Coast Highway is a major arterial coastal road located in the western and inner northern suburbs of Perth, linking the northern coastal suburbs of Perth with the city of Fremantle. It consists of both single and dual carriageway with 2 or 4 lanes. The highway began life as a minor coastal road (called Coast Road) between Swanbourne and North Beach in the 1940s.
Marmion Avenue:
Marmion Avenue was first created as an arterial road that traversed the then-new outer northern suburbs of Perth, following the outer northern limit as it expanded. Marmion Avenue was named after the suburb of Marmion, which was the start of the road in the late 1960s, when it was an arterial road from Warwick to then-remote Mullaloo Beach. Until the early 1980s, the road was a single carriageway. Marmion Avenue is dual carriageway for its entire length.
Marmion Avenue is named after Patrick Marmion who first settled in the Marmion area in 1849. He established a whaling station and was granted land in the area to run sheep. 2
Multiplexes along the route include:
- TD204, for 7 km, between City Beach and Trigg.
History:
- West Coast Highway:
- October 1939: Construction of West Coast Highway, linking Cottesloe and Scarborough through to City Beach commenced. 3
- 1940: The opening of West Coast Highway. 4
- 1960s: West Coast Hwy upgraded and extended to Mullaloo Beach.
- 1970s: The section through City Beach was redesigned, seeing the former Challenger Drive (inland) and West Coast Highway (coastal) trading names and the new highway constructed as dual carriageway to Scarborough. The southern section running through Swanbourne was renamed Rochdale Road.
- 1984: The highway was extended north to Ocean Reef Road.
- 1985: West Coast Highway, the main road from Scarborough and Fremantle, was brought inland from Pearl Parade and joined to the end of Marmion Avenue at Karrinyup Road.
- 2000: Construction of a new extension of the West Coast Highway, cut into the ground next to Servetus Street, Curtin Avenue was also upgraded.
- 2002: Upgrade of pedestrian facilities on West Coast Highway between West Coast Terrace in Trigg and Oceanic Drive in City Beach. Work at the intersection of West Coast Highway and Scarborough Beach Road included removal of redundant lanes to reduce the road crossing widths. 5
- Marmion Avenue:
- 1985: Marmion Avenue, now the most important road in the coastal suburbs, was duplicated to Whitfords Avenue.
- 1986: Marmion Avenue was assigned State Route 71.
- 1986-1990s: Marmion Avenue was gradually extended as a single carriageway road further north - extending first to Ocean Reef Road, then Shenton Avenue, Burns Beach Road.
- 1995: SR71 extended to Quinns Rocks.
- 2001: Marmion Avenue was upgraded to full dual carriageway along its entire length.
- 1 November 2008: Marmion Avenue extension from Butler to Yanchep opens to traffic.
- 2017: An additional through-lane added to Hepburn Avenue at both the northbound and southbound approaches to Marmion Avenue. Turning pockets extended at all approaches and northbound a double right turn lane was added from Marmion Avenue to Hepburn Avenue. Pedestrian crossing facilities were upgraded and cyclist facilities improved. The turn pockets from Marmion Avenue were lengthened and upgraded to include two right turn lanes onto Whitfords Avenue from the northern approach. When approaching from the east the left turn lane to Whitfords Avenue was extended and upgraded to a double left turn with traffic signals. Improvements made to the pedestrian crossing and underpass. 6
1 WA Government, Main Roads Western Australia, Road Information Mapping System.
2 WA Government, Western Australian Land Information Authority.
3 Town of Cambridge, Heritage Trail Brochure.
4 MG Graphics.
5 WA Government, Media Statements, West Coast Highway pedestrian improvements to start soon, 26 April 2002.
6 WA Government, Main Roads Western Australia, Completed Projects, Marmion Avenue at Hepburn Avenue and Whitfords Avenue upgrades, 16 July 2018.