Graham Farmer Freeway

Graham Farmer Freeway
Basic data
Operator:	Main Roads
Start of the street:	Mitchell Freeway; Leederville ( Perth ) ( WA ); ( 31 ° 57 ′ S , 115 ° 51 ′ E )
End of street:	Orrong Road; Rivervale ( Perth ) ( WA ) ; ( 31 ° 58 ′ S , 115 ° 54 ′ E )
Overall length:	6.4 km
States :	Western Australia
	East tunnel entrance on Lord Street

Map with all coordinates: OSM | WikiMap

The Graham Farmer Freeway is an urban highway in downtown Perth in the southeast of the Australian state of Western Australia . It connects the Mitchell Freeway in Leederville with Orrong Road in Rivervale and thus forms a northern bypass of downtown Perth.

The freeway, in conjunction with the Great Eastern Highway and Orrong Street, is an important link between the city center and Perth Airport . The street is, together with Orrong Street, designated as State Road 8 (S8) and was named after football player Graham "Polly" Farmer (born 1935), who played in both the Australian Football League of Western Australia and in the 1953-1971 played by Victoria .

Northbridge tunnel

In the course of the freeway lies the only freeway tunnel in Western Australia, the Northbridge Tunnel. The 1.6 km long tunnel has two lanes in each direction and one emergency lane. There is an escape route between the two tunnel tubes. In the population, the tunnel is called Polly Pipe , which not only refers to its namesake, but also reminds of the Poly Pipes , PE or PVC pipes laid underground for sanitary installations. Works of art can be found at both tunnel entrances. There is a pictorial history of Northbridge at the west entrance and Aboriginal artist Ron Cobett has added paintings based on Aboriginal art at the east entrance . The transport of dangerous goods is not allowed to use the tunnel.

Windan Bridge

The freeway crosses the Swan River on the 406 m long, six-lane Windan Bridge, one of the newer of the 19 bridges over the river. The bridge also contains footpaths and bike paths.

construction

The Graham Farmer Freeway was built in 1996-2000, using over 180,000 m³ of concrete. The project was completed 3 months ahead of schedule and did not exceed the calculated budget of AU $ 313 million. According to the specifications of the operator Main Roads Western Australia , the road should last for 150 years.

Construction Phase 1 included the tunnel and was a finalist in the Australian Construction Achievement Award .

Construction phase 2 included the Windan Bridge and nine other traffic and pedestrian bridges. This construction phase won a prize from Austroads .

Crossings and exits

Graham Farmer Freeway
Eastbound exits	Distance to Rivervale (km)	Distance to West Perth (km)	Exits to the west
Start of the Graham Farmer Freeway off the Mitchell Freeway	6.4	-	End of Graham Farmer Freeway Continue as Mitchell Freeway
no exit	-	-
no exit	-	-	Leederville, West Perth Loftus Street
no exit	-	0.8	Northbridge James Street
NORTHBRIDGE TUNNEL	3.8	3.6	NORTHBRIDGE TUNNEL
no exit	-	2.6	Northbridge, East Perth Lord Street Newcastle Street
East Perth, Highgate East Parade	3.0	3.4	Highgate, East Perth East Parade
SWAN RIVER	2.3	4.1	SWAN RIVER
Burswood Victoria Park Drive	1.4	5.0	Burswood Victoria Park Drive
Burswood, rival of the Great Eastern Highway	-	6.4	Rivervale, Burswood Great Eastern Highway
End of Graham Farmer Freeway further than Orrong Road	-	6.4	Start of the Graham Farmer Freeway off Orrong Road