# Commonwealth Avenue (Canberra)

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**Commonwealth Avenue** (route A23) is a major road in [Canberra](/source/Canberra), [Australian Capital Territory](/source/Australian_Capital_Territory), [Australia](/source/Australia). It connects [Civic](/source/City_Centre,_Australian_Capital_Territory) with [South Canberra](/source/South_Canberra). Specifically, it runs between [City Hill](/source/City_Hill,_Canberra) and [Capital Hill](/source/Capital_Hill,_Australian_Capital_Territory).

## History

The first [Commonwealth Avenue Bridge](/source/Commonwealth_Avenue_Bridge) was constructed in 1928; that replaced a [ford](/source/Ford_(crossing)) across the [Molonglo River](/source/Molonglo_River); and two earlier bridges. The current bridge was completed in 1963.[1][2]

## Description

Commonwealth Avenue is a six-lane-wide road with a wide median down the middle. The road crosses [Lake Burley Griffin](/source/Lake_Burley_Griffin) over the Commonwealth Avenue Bridge. The road is connected with [Parkes Way](/source/Parkes_Way) by [freeway](/source/Freeway) style on-ramps. Along its length on the northern side are the [Roman Catholic](/source/Roman_Catholic) [Archbishop](/source/Roman_Catholic_Archdiocese_of_Canberra_and_Goulburn#Bishops)'s residence and [Commonwealth Park](/source/Commonwealth_Park,_Canberra). On the south side of the lake the road is lined with large trees and is bounded by the suburb of [Parkes](/source/Parkes,_Australian_Capital_Territory) on the east and [Yarralumla](/source/Yarralumla,_Australian_Capital_Territory) on the west. Significant sites along this stretch include the [Albert Hall](/source/Albert_Hall,_Canberra), the [Hotel Canberra](/source/Hotel_Canberra) ([Hyatt](/source/Hyatt)) and the [High Commissions](/source/High_Commission) of the [United Kingdom](/source/United_Kingdom), [New Zealand](/source/New_Zealand) and [Canada](/source/Canada).

Upon reaching Capital Hill, the road turns into [Capital Circle](/source/Capital_Circle) which circles around [Parliament House](/source/Parliament_House,_Canberra) before connecting with [Adelaide Avenue](/source/Adelaide_Avenue) which connects it with [Woden Valley](/source/Woden_Valley). There is a ramp at the end of Commonwealth Avenue which allows access to [Parliament House](/source/Parliament_House,_Canberra).

Between the spans on the southern side are four [granite](/source/Granite) stones from the 1817 [Waterloo Bridge](/source/Waterloo_Bridge) across the [River Thames](/source/River_Thames) in [London](/source/London), two at each end of the bridge. These were presented to Australia after the 1817 bridge was demolished in the 1940s and replaced by a modern structure. A plaque reads, in part, "Stones such as these from the bridge were presented to Australia and other parts of the British world to further historic links in the British [Commonwealth of Nations](/source/Commonwealth_of_Nations)."

## See also

- [List of road routes in the Australian Capital Territory](/source/List_of_road_routes_in_the_Australian_Capital_Territory)
- [Parliamentary Triangle, Canberra](/source/Parliamentary_Triangle,_Canberra)

## References

1. Mildenhall, William James (1925). ["Second Commonwealth Avenue Bridge"](http://www.images.act.gov.au/duslibrary/imagesact.nsf/V01/F0E62B305474F39CCA25726700086630?OpenDocument) (image). *ACT Heritage Library: ImagesACT*. Government of the Australian Capital Territory. Retrieved 25 March 2020.

1. Ling, Ted (ed.) (2013). ["Expansion on a grand scale"](http://guides.naa.gov.au/records-about-act/part1/chapter5/5.3.aspx) (Part 1: Chapter 5). *Government Records about the Australian Capital Territory*. [National Archives of Australia](/source/National_Archives_of_Australia). Retrieved 25 March 2020.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Commonwealth Avenue (Canberra)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_Avenue_(Canberra)) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_Avenue_(Canberra)?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.