New Fremantle Traffic Bridge design unveiled after torrent of community opposition forced concept rethink

The State Government has unveiled a new design for the Fremantle Traffic Bridge replacement after previous plans were opposed by the local community, with a 12-month shutdown now looming.

The 85-year-old largely timber bridge was planned to be temporary and has lasted twice as long as its builders anticipated, but is rusting, rotting and has been deemed a serious safety risk after being struck by vessels.

A 2004 engineering report revealed that the risk of the bridge collapsing from a boat collision was 66 times above accepted standards — resulting in hundreds of fatalities depending on the time of day.

On Thursday, an “enhanced” new design was unveiled after what was meant to be a “final” design — released last year and proposing changes to the existing road layout — drew criticism from locals.

The new bridge will be built on the same spot and maintain two traffic lanes in each direction but add pedestrian and cycling paths up to four metres wide on both sides.

Beach Street will remain a local access road and the “Containbow” art installation - an arc of sea containers in rainbow colours - will stay in its existing Canning Highway location.

Transport Minister Rita Saffioti said consultation that had been underway since 2019 had drawn “a lot of feedback, some contradictory”.

“We did attempt a number of different designs and I acknowledge that,” Transport Minister Rita Saffioti told reporters.

“Some of them were really about trying to enhance or change the entire landscape, in particular the southern embankment.

“We took feedback, people saying they wanted to change the road configuration leading to the bridge, that we needed to create some more space in front of The Naval Store.

“It was clear there wasn’t a consensus.

“We now believe building the bridge where it is will be much easier for the whole community.”

Ms Saffioti said the new design had better vessel navigation clearances underneath and would be Australia’s first “extradosed” bridge, combining both cantilevers and cable support.

It’s expected the bridge will need to be closed for up to 12 months, but this is not expected to occur until 2025.

Subject to development approval — during which the community will again have an opportunity to comment on the latest design — the earliest construction could start would be in the second half of 2024.

Once timelines have been established, Main Roads will liaise with the community and local businesses about closure dates and traffic management.

A planned rebuild of the nearby rail bridge has been put off, blamed on the epic task of planning a new container port at Kwinana.

The aim will be to keep the shutdown to a minimum, with the State Government saying it had learnt some tricks from building the new Fitzroy River Bridge after the old one was destroyed in a record-breaking flood in January.

The Kimberley Bridge is expected to open by the end of this year, more than six months ahead of schedule.