Fremantle Traffic Bridge
Fremantle Traffic Bridge | |
|---|---|
 View from Fremantle in 2010 | |
| Coordinates | 32°02′28″S 115°45′16″E / 32.0412°S 115.7545°E |
| Carries | Queen Victoria Street |
| Crosses | Swan River |
| Locale | Fremantle |
| Owner | Main Roads Western Australia |
| Preceded by | Stirling Bridge |
| Followed by | Fremantle Railway Bridge |
| Characteristics | |
| Total length | 219 metres |
| No. of lanes | 4 |
| History | |
| Opened | 15 December 1939 |
| Closed | January 2026 (scheduled) |
| Location | |
 | |
The Fremantle Traffic Bridge carries Queen Victoria Street over the Swan River, linking the suburbs of North Fremantle and Fremantle in Perth, Western Australia.
History
[edit]With the 1866-built bridge connecting North Fremantle and Fremantle in urgent need of replacement, work commenced on a replacement in November 1937.[1] It was envisaged to have a short lifespan with Fremantle Harbour expected to be extended further east.[2] Hence it was built out of timber rather than concrete. It opened on 15 December 1939.[3][4][5]
In 1992 work on replacing the original timbers to extend the bridge's life by 25 years was completed.[6][7]
Construction of a replacement bridge by a consortium of Arup, Laing O’Rourke and WSP commenced in September 2024.[8][9] The project was altered with the new bridge to be built to the west of the current bridge rather than the east.[10] In January 2026 the old bridge will close with the replacement bridge not scheduled to open until 2027.[11][12][13]
References
[edit]- ^ Work Starts on Traffic Bridge Daily News 23 November 1937 page 5
- ^ Swan & Canning Rivers Bridges Australian Engineering Week Tour 2012 Engineers Australia 2012 pages 20/21
- ^ Traffic Bridge The West Australian 16 December 1939 page 16
- ^ Fremantle Bridge The West Australian 18 December 1939 page 14
- ^ Fremantle Traffic Bridge Westralian Worker 22 December 1939 page 5
- ^ Fremantle Traffic Bridge Commissioner of Main Roads Newsletter November 1991 page 1
- ^ Fremantle celebrates its new bridge Commissioner of Main Roads Newsletter August 1992 page 2
- ^ Construction of iconic Fremantle Traffic Bridge underway Minister for Transport 3 September 2024
- ^ Swan River Crossings Main Roads Western Australia
- ^ Fremantle Traffic Bridge to be replaced by altered Swan River Crossings project after backlash ABC News 21 August 2021
- ^ Fremantle’s old traffic bridge is closing for 12 months. Where will all the cars go? WAtoday 6 May 2025
- ^ Main Roads throwing everything at Fremantle Traffic Bridge closure Daily Cargo News 27 August 2025
- ^ New school bus services for Fremantle bridge closure Australasian Bus & Coach 25 September 2025
External links
[edit]
Media related to Fremantle Traffic Bridge at Wikimedia Commons
