Henry Lawson Drive

Road in Sydney, Australia

Henry Lawson Drive

New South Wales

Henry Lawson Drive at Georges Hall

Northwest end

Southeast end

Coordinates|

* 33°53′22″S 150°58′23″E﻿ / ﻿33.889577°S 150.973117°E﻿ / -33.889577; 150.973117 (Northwest end)
* 33°57′41″S 151°03′29″E﻿ / ﻿33.961329°S 151.058038°E﻿ / -33.961329; 151.058038 (Southeast end)

General information
Type| Road
Length| 19.9 km (12 mi)[1]
Gazetted| October 1939[2]
Former
route number|

* State Route 55 (1974–2004)
* Ring Road 5 (1964–1974)

Major junctions
Northwest end| Woodville Road
Lansdowne, Sydney

* Hume Highway
* Milperra Road
* South West Motorway
* Alfords Point Road

Southeast end| Forest Road
Peakhurst, Sydney
Location(s)
Major suburbs| Georges Hall, Milperra, East Hills, Padstow Heights

Henry Lawson Drive is an 20-kilometre (12 mi)[1] urban road linking Lansdowne and Peakhurst in the south-western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The road is named in honour of Henry Lawson (1867–1922), one of Australia's foremost poets.

## Route

[edit]

Henry Lawson Drive commences at the intersection with Hume Highway and Woodville Road - also known as the Meccano Set due to its series of overhead gantries - at Lansdowne, and heads in a southerly direction as a two-lane single carriageway road, running alongside the bank of Prospect Creek and then Georges River for the most part, past Bankstown Airport and through Milperra to meet South-West Motorway. The road eventually turns in an easterly direction, still mostly following the river course, through Georges River National Park to meet Alfords Point Road at Padstow Heights where it widens to a six-lane, dual-carriageway road, until it eventually terminates at the intersection with Forest Road in Peakhurst.

The maximum elevation of the road is 60.9 metres (200 ft) AMSL and at its lowest point it is 1.65 metres (5 ft 5 in) AMSL.[3]

## History

[edit]

The passing of the Main Roads Act of 1924[4] through the Parliament of New South Wales provided for the declaration of Main Roads, roads partially funded by the State government through the Main Roads Board (MRB). With the subsequent passing of the Main Roads (Amendment) Act of 1929[5] to provide for additional declarations of State Highways and Trunk Roads, the Department of Main Roads (having succeeded the MRB in 1932) declared Main Road 508 from Lansdowne via Milperra, East Hills picnic point and Salt Pan Creek to Peakhurst on 18 October 1939.[2]

The full length of the route was officially named Henry Lawson Drive on 16 June 1948.[6]

The passing of the Roads Act of 1993[7] updated road classifications and the way they could be declared within New South Wales. Under this act, Henry Lawson Drive retains its declaration as Main Road 508.[8]

Henry Lawson Drive was allocated part of Ring Road 3 in 1964. It was replaced by State Route 55 in 1974, and eventually decommissioned in 2004, and is currently unallocated.

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Henry Lawson Drive was conceived of as a scenic drive to follow the north bank of Georges River, and was known in its planning stages as the George's River feeder road. Most of the route (from Hume Highway to The River Road) was built in the period 1946–55, with some sections in Georges Hall, Milperra, East Hills, Picnic Point and Peakhurst utilising pre-existing but unsealed roads. In 1963, following the closure of the Morgans Creek landfill waste disposal site at the southern end of The River Road, Henry Lawson Drive was extended to Padstow Heights with the completion of the 53-metre-long (174 ft) bridge over Little Salt Pan Creek. In September 1964 the final section was completed with the opening of the 183-metre-long (600 ft) bridge over Salt Pan Creek, connecting the road via what had formerly been Hymen Street to Forest Road in Peakhurst. In 1975 the T-intersection with Forest Road at the eastern terminus was reconfigured so that the route from Henry Lawson Drive to Forest Road northbound became the through route. Widening of the section from Alfords Point Road to Forest Road occurred incrementally, initially by reconfiguring pavement markings and construction of a westbound overtaking lane. It was later widened to four lanes in places and then six lanes. This work was completed in conjunction with the widening from two to six lanes of the Salt Pan Creek Bridge.

### Upgrades

[edit]

Since the opening of South-West Motorway in 1992, the section of Henry Lawson Drive between the motorway and Milperra Road has had high congestion levels[9] and the City of Canterbury-Bankstown has been trying to overcome this.[10]

The first section through Georges Hall was completed in May 2023, adding an extra southbound lane and a new pedestrian footpath.[11] The second section, from Tower Road (the Bankstown Airport access road) to Auld Avenue in Milperra, previously widened to four lanes with turning bays, is still ongoing.[12] Subsequent stages are intended to see duplication to dual two-lane carriageways from Hume Highway to South-West Motorway.[13]

## Major intersections

[edit]

LGA| Location| km[1]| mi| Destinations| Notes

|
|
|
|
|

Canterbury-Bankstown| Villawood–Lansdowne boundary| 0.0| 0.0| Woodville Road (north) – Woodville, Parramatta| Northwestern terminus of road
Hume Highway (A22) – Liverpool, Bankstown, Ashfield| Meccano Set intersection
Bankstown Aerodrome| 5.1| 3.2|  Tower Road – Bankstown Airport|
Bankstown Aerodrome–Milperra boundary| 5.4| 3.4|  Newbridge Road (A34 west) – Liverpool, Moore Park
Milperra Road (A34 east) – Punchbowl, Canterbury|
Milperra–Panania boundary| 7.5| 4.7|  South-West Motorway (M5) – Liverpool, Campbelltown|
Picnic Point| 12.2| 7.6| Picnic Point Road – Panania| Roundabout
Picnic Point–Revesby Heights boundary| 15.7| 9.8| The River Road – Revesby|
Padstow Heights| 17.2| 10.7|  Alfords Point Road (A6) – Alfords Point, Bangor, Lucas Heights| Southbound entrance only
Georges River| Peakhurst| 19.9| 12.4| Jacques Avenue (north) – Riverwood|
Forest Road – Lugarno, Hurstville, Arncliffe| Southwestern terminus of road

* Incomplete access
* Tolled
* Route transition

## See also

[edit]

Australian Roads portal

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c "Henry Lawson Drive" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
2. ^ a b "Main Roads Act, 1924-1938". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 167\. National Library of Australia. 27 October 1939. p. 5114\. Archived from the original on 3 July 2023. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
3. ^ "Map of Henry Lawson Drive, NSW". Bonzle Digital Atlas of Australia. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
4. ^ State of New South Wales, An Act to provide for the better construction, maintenance, and financing of main roads; to provide for developmental roads; to constitute a Main Roads Board Archived 11 August 2022 at the Wayback Machine 10 November 1924
5. ^ State of New South Wales, An Act to amend the Main Roads Act, 1924-1927; to confer certain further powers upon the MRB; to amend the Local Government Act, 1919, and certain other Acts; to validate certain payments and other matters; and for purposes connected therewith. Archived 12 August 2022 at the Wayback Machine 8 April 1929
6. ^ "Main Roads Act, 1924-1955". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 74\. National Library of Australia. 2 July 1948. p. 1620\. Archived from the original on 5 July 2023. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
7. ^ State of New South Wales, An Act to make provision with respect to the roads of New South Wales; to repeal the State Roads Act 1986, the Crown and Other Roads Act 1990 and certain other enactments; and for other purposes. Archived 11 August 2022 at the Wayback Machine 10 November 1924
8. ^ Transport for NSW (August 2022). "Schedule of Classified Roads and Unclassified Regional Roads" (PDF). Government of New South Wales. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 August 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
9. ^ Beech, James (10 September 2015). "Demand for Henry Lawson Drive widening before major developments like Moorebank Intermodal increase congestion". Daily Telegraph. Australia. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
10. ^ "Calls to improve Henry Lawson Drive". Bankstown City Council. Archived from the original on 20 March 2011.
11. ^ "Henry Lawson Drive Upgrade - Georges Hall".
12. ^ "Henry Lawson Drive Upgrade Stage 1A".
13. ^ "Henry Lawson Drive Upgrade".

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