The Graham Farmer Freeway is a inner-city freeway in Perth, Western Australia. It links the Mitchell Freeway in West Perth to Great Eastern Highway and Orrong Road in Burswood, providing an east–west bypass of the city's central business district. Named after Australian rules footballer Polly Farmer, the Graham Farmer Freeway has a cut-and-cover tunnel through Northbridge known as the Northbridge Tunnel.
After decades of proposals, the Western Australian state government committed in 1993 to building the City Northern Bypass, as it was known at the time. After trenched and partially tunnelled options were assessed, it was chosen that the bypass would be fully tunnelled through Northbridge. The construction was split into two main contracts. The section from the Mitchell Freeway to East Parade, including the Northbridge Tunnel, was constructed by Baulderstone and Clough. The section from East Parade to Great Eastern Highway, including the Windan Bridge across the Swan River, was constructed by Transfield and Thiess.
The Northbridge Tunnel was constructed top-down, by constructing the ceiling and walls first, then excavating the inside, causing large disruption to Northbridge. Construction on the tunnel started in March 1997 from the western end; breakthrough at the eastern end was achieved in January 1999. The Windan Bridge was constructed between December 1997 and September 1999 using the incremental launch method. The Graham Farmer Freeway opened to traffic on 24 April 2000, resulting in a decrease in traffic on The Causeway and Riverside Drive. In 2013, a third lane was added to the tunnel in each direction by converting the emergency stopping lane to a traffic lane.
Description Route
The Graham Farmer Freeway is long, and links the Mitchell Freeway in West Perth to Great Eastern Highway and Orrong Road in Burswood, providing an east–west bypass of the Perth central business district (CBD). It is part of State Route 8, along with Orrong Road and Welshpool Road East. The speed limit for the whole freeway is .
The Graham Farmer Freeway commences at the Mitchell Freeway's Hamilton Interchange, which was designed at the time of the Mitchell Freeway's construction to allow for the Graham Farmer Freeway's connection. There is full freeway access to all directions at the interchange, plus on- and off-ramps from the Graham Farmer Freeway to Loftus Street and an off-ramp to James Street. At Fitzgerald Street, the freeway enters the Northbridge Tunnel, which travels parallel between Newcastle Street and Aberdeen Street, before s-bending north at Beaufort Street to travel parallel between Newcastle Street and Parry Street. At Lord Street, the Graham Farmer Freeway exits the tunnel.
East of Lord Street, the Graham Farmer Freeway travels parallel to and on the northern side of the railway line, connecting to East Parade at a diamond interchange, through which access is provided to Lord Street as well via collector-distributor lanes. East of East Parade, the freeway crosses the Swan River via the Windan Bridge, which is parallel to the railway's Goongoongup Bridge. In Burswood, the freeway bends towards the south-west, connecting to Victoria Park Drive via a diamond interchange, before diverging from the railway and passing under the Riversdale Road bridge. The freeway terminates at Great Eastern Highway via a modified diamond interchange with an additional loop ramp from the highway westbound to the freeway northbound. South of Great Eastern Highway, the freeway turns into Orrong Road.
Tunnel The Northbridge Tunnel is monitored by Main Roads Western Australia 24 hours per day from the Road Network Operations Centre (RNOC). The Traffic Operations Centre, located above the eastern tunnel portal, was used until the RNOC opened in 2018. The Northbridge Tunnel is split into two road tunnels for each direction of traffic plus a central escape corridor and service gallery, which can be accessed by emergency doors placed every . The tunnel is designed to allow for up to three stories to be built above it. The roof of the tunnel ranges from to below ground level. The interior is tall, but the clearance is officially . On all five approaches to the tunnel is an infrared beam to check for overheight vehicles, and display a warning sign with flashing lights if an overheight vehicle is detected.
As part of its ventilation system, there are jet fans located throughout the tunnel and a ventilation building near each portal. The tunnel is fitted with traffic monitoring, fire detection equipment and a water deluge system. The tunnel has a 150-year design life. There are lane control lights and electronic overhead signs which can display safety messages. Due to safety concerns, placarded vehicles, which can carry dangerous goods, are not allowed within the tunnel.
Artwork There are public art pieces at each tunnel portal. At the western portal is a pictorial history of Northbridge by Joanna Lefroy Capelle, and at the eastern portal is a piece of Indigenous art by Ron Corbett. In 2019, the cement cladding at each tunnel portal was replaced with aluminium cladding, and new artwork was added to the tunnel portals featuring a silhouette of the tunnel's namesake, Graham "Polly" Farmer.
History Planning Proposals for a northern bypass date back to at least 1930, when the Metropolitan Town Planning Commission proposed a route that would have cut across from The Causeway to Newcastle Street. In 1955, the Plan for the Metropolitan Region, Perth and Fremantle, also known as the Stephenson–Hepburn Report, was released. It said that a "Burswood Highway" should be built, which would follow Roe Street and Wittenoom Street, before crossing the Swan River and terminating at Great Eastern Highway. The route of the highway was changed and upgraded to a freeway when the Metropolitan Region Scheme was adopted in 1963 though, with it now running between Newcastle and Aberdeen Streets and forming a ring road with Riverside Drive. The state government commenced acquiring the land for this in the 1960s, with some of the land leased back to private tenants. The cost and political difficulty of building such a road through Northbridge meant that construction did not occur until decades later. Due to a lack of investment in the land, it fell into disrepair.
In 1988, the proposed route within East Perth was moved next to the railway bridge, instead of bisecting East Perth as was previously planned. In the early 1990s, the Department of Planning and Urban Development commissioned the Burswood Bridge and Road Study, to assess the need for the city northern bypass, and determine its alignment and design. At the time, Riverside Drive and The Causeway were heavily congested, with much of the traffic using those roads heading through the CBD rather than to or from the CBD. The study, published in September 1993, recommended the construction of the northern bypass road and a third major river crossing in the East Perth area. The report recommended two options: one as a trench through Northbridge with two short tunnels for A$235million, and another as a trench through Northbridge with no tunnels for $155million. The first option would have had tunnels from Stirling Street to west of Beaufort Street, and from Lake Street to Fitzgerald Street; the trench sections would have saved on ventilation costs. By this point, the state government owned over three quarters of the required land for the freeway. A public comments period began thereafter. Public hearings were held in the first half of 1994. The Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC) recommended in mid-1994 that the road's alignment through East Perth be moved south towards the railway line and lowered, saving 48 properties and impacting 13 new properties. The MPC also recommended that the route be fully tunnelled instead of partially, in response to public submissions. The other options divided Northbridge too much and produce too much noise and air pollution. It was ruled the full tunnel's aesthetic, environmental and social benefits would outweigh the increased cost of $300million. Land acquisition began in October 1994. In April 1995, it was announced that the City Northern Bypass would be constructed for $335million, funded by a four cents per litre increase in the fuel levy and from the consolidated revenue fund.
Construction The construction of the City Northern Bypass, as it was known at the time, was divided into two contracts. The first contract involved the construction of the Northbridge Tunnel, the interchanges with the Mitchell Freeway and Lord Street, and a rail tunnel for the Midland line to pass under the freeway. Five consortia expressed interest in this contract; three of them were shortlisted in August 1995: Baulderstone Hornibrook and Clough; the Citypass Consortium, consisting of John Holland, McConnell Dowell and Obayashi Corporation; and Transfield and Thiess. The Baulderstone–Clough Joint Venture was selected in February 1996 and the contract was signed three months later for $203.8million. The contract included operating and maintaining the tunnel for ten years. Construction on the tunnel began in September 1996. The second contract involved the construction of the bridge across the Swan River, now known as the Windan Bridge, and the freeway between East Parade and Great Eastern Highway / Orrong Road. Four consortia submitted expressions of interest: Baulderstone–Clough Joint Venture; Leighton Contractors; Transfield Thiess Joint Venture; and John Holland. The first three were shortlisted in July 1996. The Transfield Thiess Joint Venture was selected in November 1996 and the contract was signed in March 1997 for $59.4million.
The City Northern Bypass, particularly the section through Northbridge, was controversial due to the number of buildings that would have to be demolished, the impact of construction on Northbridge, the impact on groundwater and air quality, and its effect in encouraging car use. Prominent critics included federal member for Perth Stephen Smith, state member for Perth Diana Warnock, shadow state transport minister Alannah MacTiernan and Gordon Stephenson, the co-author of the Plan for the Metropolitan Region, Perth and Fremantle. Stephenson said that the road would be predominantly used by traffic accessing the CBD, not bypassing it, and it would encourage driving rather than catching public transport, walking or cycling to the CBD. The Cities for People campaign was by opponents of the freeway, arguing against the freeway and in favour of investment in public transport. The state government rejected criticism of the project; Planning Minister Richard Lewis labelled the opposition to it a "scare campaign" and said that opponents were misrepresenting the project.