Highways in Western Australia include both roads that are named as a highway, and roads that have been declared as a highway under the Main Roads Act 1930. The standard of highways range from two-lane roads, common in rural areas, to controlled access, grade separated freeways in Perth.
In legislation, a highway is a type of road controlled and maintained by the state road authority, Main Roads Western Australia. Any road or section of road may be proclaimed a highway by the Governor of Western Australia, on the recommendation of the Commissioner of Main Roads, under Section 13 of the Main Roads Act 1930.[1] Section 14 of the act allows for the creation of new highways. Main Roads assigns each highway a name and number, which may vary from the official road names used on road signs and by the general public.[2] The highway number does not correspond to a road route that may be allocated to the highway, and some highways are not part of a numbered route.
| Highway | Component roads | From | To | Length (km)[3] | Length (mi) | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albany Highway | Perth | Albany | 403.71km (250.85miles) | ||||
| Melville Mandurah Highway | BictonAttadale | Mandurah | 56.04km (34.82miles) | Formerly Perth–Bunbury Highway which extended down to Bunbury | |||
| Eyre Highway | Eyre Highway | Norseman | Ceduna (SA) | 720.71km (447.83miles) | |||
| Brand Highway | Brand Highway | Muchea | Geraldton | 367.62km (228.43miles) | |||
| Great Eastern Highway |
| Burswood | Kalgoorlie | 592.65km (368.26miles) | |||
| Great Northern Highway | Great Northern Highway | Midland | Wyndham | 3193.31km (1,984.23miles) | |||
| North West Coastal Highway | North West Coastal Highway | Geraldton | Port Hedland | 1294.87km (804.59miles) | |||
| South Coast Highway |
| Albany | Esperance | 474.38km (294.77miles) | |||
| South Western Highway | South Western Highway | Armadale | Walpole | 513.57km (319.12miles) | |||
| Coolgardie–Esperance Highway |
| Coolgardie | Esperance | 370.74km (230.37miles) | |||
| Victoria Highway | Victoria Highway | Lake Argyle | Katherine (NT) | 87.51km (54.38miles) | |||
| Leach Highway | Leach Highway | Palmyra | Kewdale | 22.35km (13.89miles) | |||
| Canning Highway | Canning Highway | Fremantle | Victoria Park | 16.06km (09.98miles) | |||
| Stirling Highway | Stirling Highway | Crawley | Fremantle | 15.78km (09.81miles) | |||
| Kwinana Freeway | Kwinana Freeway | Perth | Lake Clifton | 71.55km (44.46miles) | |||
| Mitchell Freeway | Mitchell Freeway | Perth | Clarkson | 36km (22miles) | |||
| Tonkin Highway | Tonkin Highway | Muchea | Oakford | 80.7km (50.1miles) | |||
| Roe Highway | Roe Highway | Middle Swan | Bibra Lake | 34.88km (21.67miles) | |||
| Great Eastern Highway Bypass | Great Eastern Highway Bypass | South Guildford | Hazelmere | 5.58km (03.47miles) | |||
| Graham Farmer Freeway | Graham Farmer Freeway | West Perth | Rivervale | 6.84km (04.25miles) | |||
| Reid Highway | Reid Highway | North Beach | Middle Swan | 23.82km (14.8miles) | |||
| Wimbledon–Rupert Street Link | Kenwick Link | Beckenham | Kenwick | 3.29km (02.04miles) | |||
| Armadale Road | Armadale Road | Armadale | Cockburn Central | 15.96km (09.92miles) | |||
| Brearley Avenue | Brearley Avenue | Redcliffe | Perth Airport | 0.85km (00.53miles) | Closed in 2018 to allow construction of the new Airport Line. | ||
| Cockburn Road | Cockburn Road | Hamilton Hill | Henderson | 10.02km (06.23miles) | |||
| Guildford Road | Guildford Road | Mount Lawley | Guildford | 11.01km (06.84miles) | |||
| Rivervale–Wattle Grove Link | Orrong Road, Welshpool Road East | Rivervale | Wattle Grove | 10.16km (06.31miles) | |||
| Karrinyup–Morley Highway | Karrinyup Road, Morley Drive | Karrinyup | Morley | 15.13km (09.4miles) | |||
| Marmion Avenue | Marmion Avenue | Karrinyup | Mullaloo | 12.2km (07.6miles) | |||
| Port Beach Road | North Fremantle | 2.64km (01.64miles) | |||||
| Queen Victoria Street | Queen Victoria Street | North Fremantle | Fremantle | 0.88km (00.55miles) | |||
| South Street | South Street | Canning Vale | Fremantle | 12.48km (07.75miles) | |||
| Toodyay Road | Toodyay Road | Middle Swan | Toodyay | 22.07km (13.71miles) | |||
| Tydeman Road | Tydeman Road | North Fremantle | 1.04km (00.65miles) | ||||
| Wanneroo Road |
| West Perth | Yanchep | 46.96km (29.18miles) | |||
| West Coast Highway | Cottesloe | Trigg | 13.47km (08.37miles) | ||||
| Garratt Road Bridge | Garratt Road | Bayswater | Ascot | 0.24km (00.15miles) | |||
| Thomas Road | Thomas Road | Kwinana Beach | Oakford | 18.5km (11.5miles) | |||
| Stephenson Highway | Stephenson Avenue | Osborne Park | 0.62km (00.39miles) | ||||
| Albany Port Road |
| Albany | 7.29km (04.53miles) | ||||
| Anzac Drive | Anzac Drive | West Kalgoorlie | South Boulder | 7.04km (04.37miles) | |||
| Broome Highway | Broome Road | Roebuck | Broome | 41.03km (25.49miles) | |||
| Bussell Highway | Bunbury | Augusta | 139.71km (86.81miles) | ||||
| Carnarvon Road | Robinson Street | Kingsford | Carnarvon | 5.09km (03.16miles) | |||
| Coalfields Highway | Coalfields Highway | Roelands | Arthur River | 36.22km (22.51miles) | |||
| Dampier Road |
| Stove Hill | Dampier | 25.84km (16.06miles) | |||
| Derby Highway | Derby Highway | Willare | Derby | 42.86km (26.63miles) | |||
| Minilya–Exmouth Road | Minilya–Exmouth Road | Minilya | Exmouth | 211.75km (131.58miles) | |||
| Goldfields Highway | Goldfields Highway | Meekatharra | Kambalda | 788.13km (489.72miles) | |||
| Geraldton–Mount Magnet Road | Geraldton–Mount Magnet Road | Geraldton | Mount Magnet | 335.34km (208.37miles) | |||
| Port Hedland Road | Wilson Street | Port Hedland | 10.38km (06.45miles) | ||||
| Brookton Highway |
| Armadale | Ravensthorpe | 501.07km (311.35miles) | |||
| Williams–Narrogin Highway | Williams–Kondinin Road | Williams | Narrogin | 31.45km (19.54miles) | |||
| Albany Ring Road | Menang Drive | Willyung | 6.66km (04.14miles) | ||||
| Madigan Road | Madigan Road | Gap Ridge | 5.78km (03.59miles) | ||||
| Beach Street (Victoria Quay Access) | Beach Street | Fremantle | 0.27km (00.17miles) | Queen Victoria Street to Victoria Quay access point | |||
| Forrest Highway | Forrest Highway | Ravenswood | Bunbury | 95.67km (59.45miles) | |||
| Willinge Drive |
| Vittoria | Picton | 4.86km (03.02miles) | |||
| Australind–Roelands Link | Raymond Road | Australind | Roelands | 6.7km (04.2miles) | |||
| John Willcock Link | John Willcock Link | Geraldton | 4.2km (02.6miles) | ||||
| Horrie Miller Drive | Horrie Miller Drive | Kewdale | Perth Airport | 0.22km (00.14miles) | |||
A "main road" is another type of road controlled by Main Roads Western Australia.
| Highway | From | To | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M8 | ||||||
| M10 | Chidlow–York Road | Official road name is Great Southern Highway | ||||
| M24 | ||||||
| M27 | ||||||
| M31 | Northam–Cranbrook Road | Official name is Great Southern Highway, from York to Cranbrook | ||||
| M65 |
As the outback covers most of Western Australia, tracks provide vital links to remote communities and settlements. These tracks are unsealed, remote, and in many cases pass through restricted areas such as Aboriginal lands and Indigenous Protected Areas, which require transit permits.[4] [5] [6] [7]
See main article: Highway 1 (Western Australia). Highway 1 is a route that circumnavigates Australia, joining all mainland state capitals, via roads numbered 1, M1, A1, or B1, as some states use an alphanumeric route numbering system. In Western Australia, most of the highway is designated as National Route 1. However, the sections in the north-east and south-east of the state that are concurrent with the National Highway routes from Perth to Adelaide and from Perth to Darwin are designated as National Highway 1.