Fremantle Traffic Bridge
Enhanced design for a new Fremantle Traffic Bridge
The new bridge will be Australia's first extradosed bridge, a design that incorporates both cantilevers and cable support.
- Location
- Fremantle, Australia
- Category
- Road Bridges and Tunnels
- Year
- 2023 - 2024
- Client
- City of Fremantle
- Collaborators
- Main Roads Western Australia / Laing O’Rourke Australia Construction / WSP Australia / Arup Australia
The bridge will replace an existing timber bridge (the fourth built at this site), which was built as a temporary structure in the late 1930s. The new bridge will be built on the same footprint as the existing bridge and the majority of the construction works will be done while the existing bridge will still be in operation.
Local community engagement
The extensive stakeholder and community consultation has been underway since 2019 to help understand the significance of the area to the local community and ensure a sustainable development.
Dissing+Weitling took on the task and redesigned the cross section and the pylons of the bridge, and also designed the railing, abutments and did the illumination studies.
The existing timber bridge. Previous conceptual design for the new bridge was released in 2022, but following the community feedback, the decision was made to reassess the design, road layout and alignment. The new design show considerations to these user analysis as well as the constrained site.
The bridge will among other things:
• Maintain two traffic lanes in each direction.
• Provide wider and safer pedestrian and bicycle paths on each side of the bridge.
• Improve navigational safety for boats, kayaks, and other river users.
• Avoid major changes to landscape and minimise impacts to the existing limestone escarpment.
• Reduce the number of piers in the river in response to heritage and navigational clearance issues.
• Provide an architecturally more elegant connection and an opportunity for a new iconic landmark of Fremantle and beyond.
The Whadjuk Elders have highlighted the importance of minimising the number of piers in the river to maintain flow of water. Construction is expected to begin in the second half of 2024.