The Fremantle Traffic Bridge carries Queen Victoria Street over the Swan River, linking the suburbs of North Fremantle and Fremantle in Perth, Western Australia. It was originally a timber bridge that opened in 1939; this structure was closed and dismantled in 2026 and replaced by a steel and concrete bridge that is scheduled to open in November 2026.
History Previously there existed a timber bridge connecting North Fremantle and Fremantle, built between 1863 and 1867 using convict labour. It was later renovated in 1909, and strengthened to carry trams.
1939 bridge By the mid-1930s, the 1867-built bridge was in urgent need of replacement and work commenced on a new bridge in November 1937. It was envisaged to have a short lifespan with Fremantle Harbour expected to be extended further east, hence it was also built out of timber rather than concrete. It opened on 15 December 1939.
Major repair works on the bridge were conducted in 1978 (in which a timber fender was installed on the structure to protect it from ship collisions) and 1982. In 1992 work on replacing the original timbers to extend the bridge's life by 25 years was completed. In 2015 further work was carried out to strengthen the bridge and reinforce the fender following two incidents where ships collided with the Fremantle Railway Bridge.
Despite the temporary nature of its construction, as of 2016 the 77-year old bridge was averaging 30,000 cars a day, a load it was not originally designed to carry. However, the costly upkeep of the bridge as well as fears concerning its age and the effects of erosion on its supports led to the Government of Western Australia to announce in 2019 that a replacement would be built.
2026 bridge Originally the project envisioned two new bridges to be built to the west of the old bridge, with the Fremantle Railway Bridge to be also duplicated. The final project scope only saw the replacement of the existing traffic bridge at the same location. Calls to retain the 1939 bridge for heritage reasons, with some advocating that the structure be converted into an elevated park, were rejected in the belief that the old bridge was beyond restoration.
The new bridge is Australia's first extradosed bridge, which incorporates both cantilevers and cable supports in its design and is of steel and concrete construction. It will have the same number of traffic lanes as the previous bridge, but has wider pedestrian paths and a higher clearance for boats. The new bridge also has an LED feature lighting system. Although originally estimated to cost A$280 million in 2022, the final cost of the new bridge rose to A$596 million.
Construction of the replacement bridge by a consortium of Arup, Laing O’Rourke and WSP commenced in September 2024.Swan River Crossings Main Roads Western Australia The initial stages of construction involved first building the new bridge's supports around the existing bridge; to limit disruptions to traffic, the old bridge remained in operation until it was closed on 1 February 2026, after which it was dismantled. Construction of the new bridge's deck then commenced in its place. The replacement bridge is scheduled to open on 1 November 2026.
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