Road Photos & Information: Western Australia Graham Farmer Freeway, Orrong Road & Welshpool Road East (State Route 8)

Road Photos & Information: Western Australia

Graham Farmer Freeway, Orrong Road & Welshpool Road East (State Route 8)

Statistics:

Length: 19 km
Northwestern Terminus: MItchell Freeway (SR2), Northbridge.
Southeastern Terminus: Canning Road (SR41), Carmel.
Suburbs, Towns & Localities along route: Carmel, Lesmurdie, Wattle Grove, Welshpool, Carlisle, Lathlain, Burswood, Perth and Northbridge.

Route Numbering:

Current:

General Information:

State Route 8 is a major artery in the Perth suburban road system, linking the CBD with the upper outer south eastern suburbs of Perth.

The Graham Farmer Freeway:

The freeway's name is a tribute to the West Australian, Australian rules footballer, Graham "Polly" Farmer.

When it was built, between 1996 and 2000, the freeway incorporated Western Australia's first freeway tunnel, the Northbridge Tunnel. The six lanes of the tunnel are divided into twin tube three lane tunnels stretching for 1.6 km, with the leftmost lane reserved as an emergency stopping lane. Additionally the 406 metre, six lane Windan Bridge crossing the Swan River was constructed as were nine traffic and pedestrian bridge structures.

Stage 1 was a finalist for the 2001 Australian Construction Achievement Award. The freeway bridges construction stage also won an award from Austroads, the Association of Australian and New Zealand Road Transport and Traffic Authorities. Over 180 000 cubic metres of concrete were used in its construction. Art work was commissioned for both ends of the tunnel. At the western end there is a pictorial history of Northbridge, and at the eastern end the Aboriginal artist Ron Corbett created images based on indigenous artwork.

The freeway's eastern terminus is located at the Great Eastern Highway (NH94) / Orrong Road (SR8) interchange in Burswood. The freeway continues as an arterial road - Orrong Road, then eventually Welshpool Road East.

Orrong Road:

Orrong Road acts as a connector between the Graham Farmer Freeway and Welshpool Road East. It's dual carriageway for it's length.

Welshpool Road East:

Welshpool Road East is a 4 lane section is an entire dual carriageway; it changes to a 2 to 3 lane single carriageway after climbing most of the Darling Scarp. Welshpool Road East came about when the Graham Farmer Fwy was opened - Orrong Road extended to meet Welshpool Rd East.

Welshpool Road East is the continuation of Orrong Road.

History:

September 1996: Construction of the Graham Farmer Fwy begins. Click here for a PDF of the final design. 1
February 1997: Great Eastern Hwy / Orrong Rd interchange opened 1
April 24 2000: The Graham Farmer Freeway was officially opened to traffic at midnight. 1
January 2006: Construction begins on the Leach Hwy grade separated interchange. 1
20th May 2007: The interchange with the Leach Highway was opened to traffic. 1 Click here for construction images.

Perth to Carmel		Carmel To Perth
Preview:	Description:	Preview:	Description:
	Advance Directional Sign: AD sign approaching the Charles St (SR60) interchange at Northbridge. February 2008. Image © Paul Rands		Eastern On-Ramp Eastern end of Graham Farmer Freeway, bridges over top of Great Eastern Hwy. On ramp for vehicles travelling south-west on Great Eastern Highway Hwy onto Graham Farmer Freeway. Image © Phillip McCallum
	Advance Directional Sign: AD sign located within the Charles St interchange at Northbridge, for East Pde (SR66). February 2008. Image © Paul Rands		West through Burswood First 200 metres of eastern end through suburb of Burswood (behind casino). Image © Phillip McCallum
	Tunnel Portal: Western end of the tunnel under the suburb of Northbridge. February 2008. The road above the tunnel is Fitzgerald St (SR56) Image © Paul Rands		East Pde Exit (going west) Continuing west, the East Pde exit comes up very shortly. Image © Phillip McCallum
	Advance Directional Sign: AD sign for East Pde (SR66) as you approach the footbridge near Claisebrook railway station. February 2008. Image © Paul Rands		Tunnel signage near East Pde Indicator board of tunnel status. Image © Phillip McCallum
	Windan Bridge looking east Graham Farmer Freeway crosses the Swan River on Windan bridge. Viewed from western end, with airport control tower visible at back. Image © Phillip McCallum		Approaching tunnels Graham Farmer Freeway approaches tunnels, with city buildings in the background. Overhead Signage is referring to exits at the other end of the tunnel. A very US looking scene. Image © Phillip McCallum
	Near East Pde The exit ramps to East Pde run parallel with Graham Farmer Freeway for around 500 metres and also service Lord Street (photo taken from pedestrian overpass to Claisebrook Station). Image © Phillip McCallum		East Portal Approach Eastern portal to the tunnels. Lord Street passes over the top of the portals. Traffic from East Pde finally enters main freeway just before tunnel entrance. Image © Phillip McCallum
	Bike track near East Pde A bike track parallels Graham Farmer Freeway for the section east of the tunnels. This is the underpass below Lord Street. Image © Phillip McCallum		Driving into Eastern Portal Driving towards eastern portal of tunnel. Image © Phillip McCallum
	East Pde Exit Signage (east) Detail of the signposting on East Pde exit (this time for eastbound traffic). Image © Phillip McCallum		Entering the tunnel Entering the tunnel from the east. Image © Phillip McCallum
	East Parade Interchange: Looking eastbound through the East Pde interchange, East Perth. February 2008. Image © Paul Rands		Exit Choices after tunnel Upon exiting from the tunnel, the Graham Farmer Freeway enters a complex interchange with the Mitchell Fwy. Heading south, the Mitchell Fwy hits another very complex interchange less than 2 kilometres later at the Narrows interchange, where it becomes the Kwinana Fwy. These two freeways provide rapid access to the north and south suburbs. Exiting the tunnel, you can choose to go north or south on Mitchell Fwy, or onto James St for Northbridge and the city, or Loftus Street for West Perth. Image © Phillip McCallum
	Advance Directional Sign: Eastbound at East Perth as you pass under East Parade (SR66), with the AD sign for the Victoria Park Drive interchange on the left of shot. February 2008. Image © Paul Rands		Graham Farmer - Mitchell Fwy interchange Looking south across the interchange, which features a 3-level flyover Image © Phillip McCallum
	Windan Bridge: Crossing the Swan River via the Windan Bridge at East Perth. February 2008. Image © Paul Rands		Entry from Mitchell Fwy (south) Graham Farmer Freeway passes underneath a flyover delivering traffic from the south off Mitchell Fwy. Image © Phillip McCallum
	Windan Bridge Windan bridge side view as it crosses the Swan River. Image © Phillip McCallum		Graham Farmer Fwy overpass onto Mitchell Fwy (north) The Graham Farmer Freeway ends as two fly-overs, doing a centre merge onto the Mitchell Fwy, which also has a railway line along its median strip. Image © Phillip McCallum
	Bike path under Windan Bridge Underneath the road deck of Windan bridge is a bike track built into the bridge structure. Image © Phillip McCallum
	Approaching Victoria Park Drive: Looking southeast as you approach the ramp to Victoria Park Drive in Burswod. February 2008. Image © Paul Rands
	Advance Directional Sign: AD sign for the interchange with the Grea Eastern Hwy (NR1 / NH94) at Burswood. February 2008. Image © Paul Rands
	Great Eastern Highway Interchange: Looking southeast through the interchange with the Great Eastern Highway at Rivervale. February 2008. Image © Paul Rands
	End Freeway: Official end of freeway conditions, as the Graham Farmer Fwy transitions to Orrong Rd at Rivervale. February 2008. Image © Paul Rands
	Distance Sign: RD sign heading southeast on Orrong Rd at Rivervale, near Francisco Street. February 2008. Image © Paul Rands
	Typical Conditions: Suburban arterial conditions as you drive southwest on Orrong Road at Rivervale. February 2008. Image © Paul Rands
	Advance Directional Sign: AD sign as you approach the interchange with the Leach Hwy (SR7) at Kewdale. February 2008. Image © Paul Rands
	Leach Hwy Interchange: Looking southeast through the Leach Hwy interchange at Kewdale. February 2008. Image © Paul Rands
	Leach Hwy Interchange: Looking southeast through the Leach Hwy interchange at Kewdale. February 2008. Image © Paul Rands
	Advance Directional Sign: AD sign approaching the interchange with Roe Hwy (SR3) and the continuation of SR8, Welshpool Road East at Welshpool. February 2008. Image © Paul Rands
	Roe Highway Interchange: The southbound turn lane for the Roe Hwy (SR3) at Welshpool. February 2008. Image © Paul Rands
	Advance Directional Sign: AD sign for the intersection with Tonkin Hwy (SR4) at Wattle Grove. February 2008, near Bruce Road. Image © Paul Rands
	Tonkin Highway Intersection: Looking east at Wattle Grove at the junction with the Tonkin Hwy (SR4). February 2008. Image © Paul Rands
	Welcome to The Perth Hills: Tourism orientated sign announcing the Perth Hills, as you climb up the Darling Scarp. February 2008. Image © Paul Rands
	Typical Conditions: Arterial road conditions as Welshpool Road East makes its way up the Darling Scarp at Wattle Grove. February 2008. Image © Paul Rands
	End dual carriageway: The arterial road conditions cease at Lesmurdie. Here we are looking eastbound near Logie Vale. February 2008. Image © Paul Rands
	Approaching Eastern Terminus: Eastbound at Carmel. February 2008. Image © Paul Rands
	End State Route 8: Approaching the end of SR8 at Carmel. Notice the lack of signage? February 2008. Image © Paul Rands
	SR8 Terminus: The end of State Route 8 as it meets with Canning Road (SR40) at Carmel. February 2008. Image © Paul Rands

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