Mitchell Freeway Western Australia |
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Map of Perth's northern suburbs with Mitchell Freeway highlighted in red | |
Type | Freeway |
Length | 30 km (19 mi) |
Opened | 1973 |
Route number(s) | State Route 2 |
South end | Kwinana Freeway (State Route 2) |
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North end | Burns Beach Road (State Route 87) |
Major suburbs / towns | Perth, Leederville, Osborne Park, Gwelup Warwick, Duncraig, Kingsley, Joondalup |
Highways in Australia National Highway • Freeways in Australia Highways in Western Australia |
Mitchell Freeway is a 30-kilometre-long (19 mi) freeway in the northern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, linking central Perth with the satellite city of Joondalup. It is the northern section of State Route 2, which continues south as Kwinana Freeway and Forrest Highway. Along its length are interchanges with several major roads, including Graham Farmer Freeway and Reid Highway. The southern terminus of the Mitchell Freeway is at the Narrows Bridge, which crosses the Swan River, and the northern terminus is at Burns Beach Road, which is the northern border of the suburb of Joondalup.
Planning for the route began in the 1950s, and the first segment in central Perth was constructed between 1967 and 1973. The Mitchell Freeway has been progressively extended north since then. In the 1970s, the first two extensions were completed, up to Hutton Street in Osborne Park. By the end of the 1980s, the freeway had reached Ocean Reef Road in Edgewater. The Joondalup railway line was constructed in the freeway median in the early 1990s. This necessitated the relocation of a section of the southbound carriageway, and the construction of three new bridges. In conjunction with these works, additional lanes were constructed in the realigned section.
Since the 1990s, extensions to the Mitchell Freeway have taken it to Burns Beach Road at the northern edge of Joondalup. During 2013, two sections of the northbound carriageway will be widened with an additional lane. The State Government have announced that the next extension will be to Hester Avenue, to be constructed between 2014–15 and 2016–17. Further works are planned, which will take the freeway past Yanchep and Two Rocks to the boundary of the Perth Metropolitan Region.