Pennant Hills Road is a arterial road located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The road links the suburb of Wahroonga in the northeast, to the major central business district of Parramatta in the southwest. Apart from a small section at its southwestern end, it is a constituent part of Cumberland Highway, and is designated part of route A28.
In 2015 NRMA members voted the Pennant Hills Road as the second worst road in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, with approximately 5,000 heavy vehicle movements per day. NorthConnex, a motorway tunnel opened on 31 October 2020, runs parallel to Pennant Hills Road and links M2 Hills Motorway at with Pacific Highway and Pacific Motorway at Wahroonga. NorthConnex aims to reduce congestion and improve traffic flow along part of the Pennant Hills Road, reducing air and traffic pollution.
Route
Pennant Hills Road commences at Pearce's Corner, the intersection with Pacific Highway in Wahroonga, and heads in a southwesterly direction as a dual-carriageway, four-lane road, crossing an intersection with exits leading to the southern end of Pacific Motorway (M1) and the northern end of NorthConnex nearly immediately and widening to a six-lane road, then passes through the Hornsby Shire suburbs of Normanhurst, Thornleigh and Pennant Hills. In Thornleigh there is a major intersection with The Comenarra Parkway, an arterial road which begins as Yanko Road in West Pymble. In the evening this intersection can get quite busy, and is often characterised by bumper to bumper traffic on the Comenarra Parkway, as motorists attempt to turn either left or right onto Pennant Hills Road. The Parkway has become somewhat of a through route from the North Shore suburbs as well as the City, with some motorists choosing to avoid Epping Road and M2 Hills Motorway and travel west through the Parkway.
At Pennant Hills, the road crosses the Northern railway Line, intersects with Yarrara Road and Boundary Road, heading west, after which is located a major intersection with Beecroft Road. It continues west, then southwest, towards Thompson's Corner, in West Pennant Hills, where there is a major intersection with Castle Hill Road. In the mid 1990s, a tunnel was built beneath the intersection which allows traffic from Castle Hill Road to turn onto Pennant Hills Road, going southbound, without negotiating the traffic lights. This also means that southbound traffic already on Pennant Hills Road rarely has to stop at the Thompson's Corner intersection, only if pedestrians are crossing.
The road continues south to the interchange with M2 Hills Motorway and the southern end of NorthConnex, narrowing back to a four-lane road and continuing south through Carlingford and the intersection with North Rocks Road and to the intersection with Carlingford Road. South of the Carlingford Road intersection lies the intersection with Marsden Road, and the road then continues southwest towards Parramatta, crossing the former Carlingford railway line, through Telopea to the major interchange with James Ruse Drive in North Parramatta; Cumberland Highway heads north along James Ruse Drive, whereas Pennant Hills Road continues southwest into Parramatta where it eventually terminates at the intersection with Church Street.
The road has a speed limit from Pearce's Corner for the short distance to the M1 intersection. From the M1 intersection it is for the entire distance to the M2 Motorway interchange. From here, the road reverts to a limit to Parramatta, with numerous "school zones" (8:00am–9:30am and 2:30pm–4:00pm), and two fixed speed cameras, between Evans Road and Coleman Avenue in Carlingford and between Castle Street and Bellevue Street in North Parramatta. Both are zones.
Pennant Hills Road frontage is a mix of businesses, schools and homes. The biggest concentration of businesses are at Thornleigh, Pennant Hills, West Pennant Hills (Thompson's Corner) and Carlingford, with the Carlingford area being the biggest.
History
Pennant Hills Road began its life in 1820 as a bullock track used by timbermen. It was surveyed by government surveyor James Meehan in order to provide a route from Ermington Wharf to the Pennant Hills sawmill established by Governor Lachlan Macquarie in 1816. The line of the original track, from Thompsons Corner to Ermington Wharf, is followed by Pennant Hills Road, Marsden Road, and Wharf Road Ermington. Subsequently, it joined the Lane Cove Road (now Pacific Highway) further north and was sometimes considered the same road.