Evan Walker Bridge

The Evan Walker Bridge is a shared use bicycle and pedestrian bridge across the Yarra River between Southbank and the city centre of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Background In May 1980, The Age launched the "Give the Yarra a Go" campaign aimed at creating public awareness of the Yarra River landscape and to encourage bicycle and pedestrian paths on the banks of the Yarra River.

Design and construction

In February–March 1986, a design competition was held for a pedestrian bridge to link Flinders Street station and Flinders Walk with Southbank Promenade. Selected architects included local and international firms. The winning entry featured a steel tied-arch form, designed by Cocks, Carmicheal & Whitford. The project team consisted of Robert Troup, Peter Carmichael and John Wardle working in association with the Public Works Department and the Victorian Ministry for Planning and Environment. The civil and structural engineers were Irwin Johnston & Partners. Costain was the builder.

In an 1987 industry journal, the firm discussed their design:

Opening and reception The bridge was opened as the Southbank Pedestrian Bridge during Moomba 1990. In November 1998, conservation architect Peter Lovell described it as 'one of the largely unrecognised architectural gems of Melbourne', calling it 'a beautifully designed and engineered structure which is a pleasure to use and view.' In 1990 the project was awarded the Walter Burley Griffin Award for Urban Design. The bridge was later awarded the 2018 Enduring Architecture Award at the Victorian Architecture Awards, 28 years after its opening.

Riverside bar/cafe On 23 January 1999, politician and entrepreneur Clem Newton-Brown opened the "Clem Cafe" nestled below the Southbank Pedestrian Bridge. It came after three years and many planning applications to the City of Melbourne, who ultimately supported his idea but warned that rising water flooded the area in winter. Then other logistical challenges began; how to dispose of wastewater and how to transport furnishings onto the concrete platform. Solutions came in the form of salvage tanks for waste and barges for transport. The cafe is shaped like the bow of a ship so that when the Yarra River rises, the waters part on either side of its waterproof panelling. Engineers and the bridge's original team of architects were consulted on the cafe's design, who recommended it be bolted to the concrete platform beneath the bridge. Prior to the development, the space was an unofficial skateboarding spot. In 2010, Grant Smillie, Jerome Borazio and Andrew Mackinnon re-opened the venue as Pony Fish Island, which became an instant success as well as a permanent addition to the Melbourne hospitality scene. It was named in part after the mythical Ponyfish seen in the cult film ‘A Life Aquatic’.

Love Locks project Between 2012 and 2015, the bridge was known colloquially as Love Lock Bridge — due to thousands of padlocks being attached to the railings. The City of Melbourne, which maintains the bridge, cited "a concern about the integrity of the bridge" and announced plans to remove the padlocks as part of routine maintenance. Lord Mayor Robert Doyle said in May 2015: "There are now 20,000 locks on that bridge and the wires are starting to sag and in some places because of that sag locks are being placed over two wires together". Doyle also said it was estimated up to 40,000 keys had been thrown into the river, posing a risk to the environment. The locks would not be cut off, but slid off the support wires, which would be detached from the bridge and replaced.

The padlocks were given to six artists, who used them as materials to create love-themed artworks. These artworks were displayed at Melbourne Town Hall in 2016 before being raffled for charity. A City of Melbourne spokesperson described the Love Locks Project as a "one-off artistic initiative" created in response to the large number of locks removed at the time. The spokesperson explained that small numbers of locks are routinely removed by City of Melbourne officers to "preserve the structural integrity of the bridge."

Naming On 28 July 2015, the bridge was officially renamed in honour of the late Evan Walker , a former planning minister who was integral to the development of Melbourne's Southbank precinct, dubbed the "father of Southbank".

Evan Walker Bridge

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