Marmion Avenue

Marmion Avenue Western Australia
General information
Type	Highway
Length	40.4 km (25 mi)[1]
Opened	1960s
Route number(s)	State Route 71 (Trigg – Yanchep)
Major junctions
South end	West Coast Highway (State Route 71 / Tourist Drive 204) , Trigg
	Karrinyup Road (State Route 76 / Tourist Drive 204) Reid Highway (State Route 3) Warwick Road (State Route 81) Hepburn Avenue (State Route 82) Whitfords Avenue (State Route 83) Ocean Reef Road (State Route 84) Burns Beach Road (State Route 87)
North end	Yanchep Beach Road, Yanchep
Location(s)
Major suburbs	Karrinyup, Hillarys, Clarkson, Butler, Alkimos, Yanchep
Highway system
Highways in Australia National Highway • Freeways in Australia Highways in Western Australia

Marmion Avenue is a 40 kilometre arterial road in the northern coastal suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, linking Trigg in the south with Yanchep in the north. It forms part of State Route 71 along with West Coast Highway, which it joins onto at its southern terminus.

Route Description

Marmion Avenue is part of state route 71, from the southern terminus to Hester Avenue, continuing on from West Coast Highway. It commences in Trigg, traveling generally parallel with the Indian Ocean coastline, and the other north-south arterials Mitchell Freeway and Wanneroo Road, through mostly residential areas and a bit of undeveloped land north of Currambine, and terminates in Yanchep. Marmion Avenue is managed by Main Roads Western Australia from the southern terminus to Ocean Reef Road, the City of Joondalup from Ocean Reef Road to the City of Joondalup Boundary, and the City of Wanneroo for the whole section within the City of Wanneroo.^[2][3]

It a four-lane dual carriageway from Trigg to Lukin Drive in Butler, a two-lane dual carriageway from Lukin Drive to Cambourne Parkway, and a two-lane single carriageway from Cambourne Parkway to the terminus in Yanchep.^[4] The speed limit is mostly 80 km/h, with a brief 70 km/h sections near the southern terminus in Karrinyup and through Butler, and a 60 km/h section near the northern terminus in Yanchep.^[5]

History

Approximate road distances (in kilometres) of coastal suburbs from Trigg onwards.

Marmion Avenue was first built as an arterial road that tracked the then-new outer northern suburbs of Perth, following the limit of the Perth metropolitan area as it expanded northwards. In the late 1960s, the road originally began at Beach Road in Marmion, giving the road its namesake.

Until the early 1980s, the road was a two-lane single carriageway connecting the coastal suburbs of Marmion and Mullaloo Beach. In 1984-85, the road was extended southwards to Karrinyup Road where it joined seamlessly onto West Coast Highway, which had been realigned further inland around the same time. Now the most important road in Perth's coastal suburbs, Marmion Avenue was duplicated up to Whitfords Avenue. In early 1986, it was assigned State Route 71, and from then on was gradually extended as a single carriageway road further north - extending first to Prendiville Avenue (just north of Ocean Reef Road), to Burns Beach Road in 1991 and to Quinns Road in the mid-1990s. Marmion Avenue was finally duplicated to its terminus in 2001, with the last portion being the empty stretch between Burns Beach Road & Quinns Rocks.

In 2000 and 2001, Reid Highway was extended as a two lane road from its terminus at Mitchell Freeway to Marmion Avenue, providing another link to the east.^[6] This section was later upgraded to a four-lane dual carriageway in 2015-2016.^[7]

After delays due to disagreements at State Government level about what route the road should follow, Marmion Avenue was extended further north to Yanchep and opened to traffic in November 2008. The extension is currently a single carriageway, but earthworks have already been undertaken to enable conversion to dual carriageway at a later date. The extension also features roundabouts at future major junctions. The completion of this extension allowed the future satellite city of Alkimos/Eglinton to begin construction.^[8][9]

On July 1, 2010, fixed red light and speed cameras were installed at the Marmion Avenue / Hepburn Avenue intersection to fine people who run red lights and speed, so the amount of road deaths in Western Australia can be reduced.^[10][11]

In 2016, the existing Marmion Avenue / Mullaloo Drive intersection was upgraded from a non-signalised t-junction to a roundabout in response to a ranking as the 39th Worst Intersection. Pedestrian paths were re-aligned, off-road cycling paths were added, Western Power light poles were upgraded and crash barriers were installed to protect residents and pedestrians.^[12][13]

As part of Main Roads Western Australia's Traffic Congestion Management Program, Marmion Avenue's intersections with Hepburn Avenue and Whitfords Avenue were upgraded during 2016 and 2017 to improve traffic flow and safety. Between 2010 and 2015, there were 249 crashes at both of these intersections combined, and 72,000 vehicle use both these intersections per day. This project was funded by the state government, and cost $12 million. Longer and additional turning lanes were added, pedestrian and cycling facilities were upgraded, traffic signals were upgraded and power lines were put underground. CCTV was also installed so that Main Roads can monitor traffic flow. Construction started in November 2016 and finished ahead of schedule in May 2017.^{[14][15][16][17][18]}

Future

Works are currently in progress to widen Marmion Avenue to a four-lane dual carriageway between Lukin Drive and Butler Boulevard. The project costs $2.21 million and is funded by the City of Wanneroo. Construction started in February 2017 and is expected to be complete by August 2017.^[19][20]

Construction is planned to start in 2018 on upgrading Marmion Avenue north of Camborne Parkway, from the current 2-lane single carriageway to a 4-lane dual carriageway. The state government is giving the City of Wanneroo $23 million to upgrade the road, and it is scheduled to be complete by 2020.^[21][22][23]

Extensions of Marmion Avenue are possible to Two Rocks. However, there are no plans for this at present. Perth's Transport at 3.5 million plan does not say that Marmion Avenue will be extended,^[24] and the Department of Planning's documents currently show Marmion Avenue terminating at Yanchep.^[25] One possible complication would be Two Rocks's past use as a munitions dump, meaning that most non-suburban sections of the suburb are fenced off.

The ultimate plan is for Marmion Avenue to become a six-lane dual carriageway between Alkimos and Yanchep, and a four-lane dual carriageway for the rest of the road. Also, the intersection with Yanchep Beach Road may be grade separated by 2050.^[24]

Junction List

LGA[5]	Location[5]	km	mi	Destinations	Notes
Stirling	Trigg–Karrinyup boundary	0.0	0.0	West Coast Highway (State Route 71) – Cottesloe south / Karrinyup Road (State Route 76) – Karrinyup, Morley east and west	Marmion Avenue terminus; Road continues south as West Coast Highway; Traffic light controlled intersection
	North Beach–Watermans Bay–Carine–Karrinyup quadripoint	1.8	1.1	Reid Highway (State Route 3) – Balcatta, Morley, Perth Airport East / North Beach Road – North Beach west	Traffic light controlled intersection
Stirling–Joondalup boundary	Marmion-Duncraig–Carine tripoint	3.4	2.1	Beach Road	Traffic light controlled t-junction
Joondalup	Marmion–Sorrento–Duncraig tripoint	4.6	2.9	Warwick Road (State Route 81) – Warwick	Traffic light controlled t-junction
	Sorrento–Hillarys–Padbury–Duncraig quadripoint	6.7	4.2	Hepburn Avenue (State Route 82) – Hillarys, Padbury, Ballajura	Traffic light controlled intersection; fixed red light and speed cameras installed[10]
	Hillarys–Kallaroo–Craigie–Padbury quadripoint	9.2	5.7	Whitfords Avenue (State Route 83) – Hillarys, Padbury, Wangara	Traffic light controlled intersection
	Mullaloo–Beldon boundary	11.0	6.8	Mullaloo Drive – Mullaloo	Roundabout t-junction
	Mullaloo–Ocean Reef–Heathridge–Beldon quadripoint	12.1	7.5	Ocean Reef Road (State Route 84) – Edgewater, Ocean Reef, Wangara	Traffic light controlled intersection
	Ocean Reef–Connolly–Heathridge	14.1	8.8	Hodges Drive – Heathridge, Joondalup	Traffic light controlled intersection
	Ocean Reef–Iluka–Currambine–Connolly quadripoint	15.5	9.6	Shenton Avenue – Connolly, Joondalup	Roundabout intersection
	Iluka–Currambine boundary	16.6	10.3	Moore Drive – Currambine, Joondalup	T-junction
	Iluka–Burns Beach–Kinross–Currambine quadripoint	17.4	10.8	Burns Beach Road (State Route 87) – Burns Beach, Kinross, Joondalup	Traffic light controlled intersection
Wanneroo	Mindarie–Clarkson tripoint	21.5	13.4	Anchorage Drive west / Neerabup Road east – Mindarie, Clarkson	Roundabout intersection
	Mindarie–Merriwa–Clarkson tripoint	23.6	14.7	Anchorage Drive North west / Hester Avenue east – Mindarie, Merriwa, Ridgewood, Clarkson	State route 71 northern terminus; Roundabout intersection
	Quinns Rocks–Butler–Merriwa tripoint	25.9	16.1	Lukin Drive – Butler, Ridgewood, Merriwa	Roundabout t-junction
	Jindalee–Butler boundary	27.0	16.8	Jindalee Boulevard west / Kingsbridge Boulevard east – Jindalee, Butler	Traffic light controlled intersection
	Jindalee–Butler boundary	28.8	17.9	Reflection Boulevard west / Cambourne Parkway east – Jindalee, Butler	Traffic light controlled intersection
	Yanchep	40.0	24.9	Lagoon Drive west / Peony Boulevard east – Yanchep	Traffic light controlled intersection
		40.4	25.1	Yanchep Beach Road – Yanchep, Two Rocks	Marmion Avenue terminus; Roundabout t-junction
Concurrency terminus

Gallery

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Marmion Avenue.

• 
  An underpass below Marmion Avenue, near Whitfords Avenue
• 
  New, single-lane extension of Marmion Avenue opened in 2008, heading north in the currently undeveloped suburb of Alkimos
• 
  New, single-lane extension of Marmion Avenue opened in 2008, heading north in the currently undeveloped suburb of Eglinton

References

See also

• West Coast Highway, Perth
• List of major roads in Perth, Western Australia
• Australian Roads portal