The road was known as Road No. 3883 on plans and maps. Until the 1970s, Burns Beach Road was unmade along its entire length. Prior to 1984 and the construction of
Joondalup, the road ran continuously without any intersections between Wanneroo Road and the village of Burns Beach, and was the only route into the village. In 1988, the road's alignment was shifted very slightly north between Connolly Drive and Joondalup Drive to accommodate the new suburb of Joondalup (North). The original path of Burns Beach Road, prior to 1988, is depicted on the following map . In 1993, Burns Beach Road was further modified to bend south at the coast, in line with future plans for the road to run south along the coast to link up with
Shenton Avenue. The original northerly alignment into Burns Beach was subsequently renamed Ocean Parade. The final phase of the road's relocation northwards, at Blue Mountain Drive, was not completed until around 1996. One can still see this path today where the road had a 90 degrees bend at Blue Mountain Drive, then along parts of Shinji Court, Windermere Circuit and Ohrid Place across the other side of Joondalup Drive, and into Drovers Place. In 1996,
Joondalup Drive underwent major re-construction, linking Joondalup to
Wanneroo Road with safer roads. Burns Beach Road was cut shorter, joining with Joondalup Drive at a large roundabout a few hundred metres west of Wanneroo Road. At the same time the old stretch of Burns Beach Road alongside Joondalup Drive was renamed Drovers Place, and Burns Beach Road was also straightened out at Blue Mountain Drive. In the late 1990s, a large roundabout was also constructed to replace a
stop-controlled intersection at Connolly Drive, in response to the growing suburban communities in Kinross and Currambine, and the heavier traffic. In the early 2000s, major work was done to improve the quality of the road west of
Marmion Avenue, due to the growing residential area in
Iluka. In 2009, the
Mitchell Freeway was extended to terminate at Burns Beach Road either side of the railway bridge north of Currambine Station. Because of this work, Burns Beach Road was turned into a dual-carriageway from Joondalup Drive to Marmion Avenue. In 2017, Mitchell Freeway was extended to Hester Avenue, thus making a diamond interchange at what was the intersection. In December 2023, the allocation of State Route 87 was removed from Burns Beach Road west of Marmion Avenue; State Route 87 now travels only between Marmion Avenue and Joondalup Drive. ==Major intersections==