OR much of its life, Fremantle’s 1939 Traffic Bridge was regarded as a practical solution to a growing city’s transport needs.
But by the early 21st century, questions about its structural condition had become increasingly difficult to ignore.
The bridge’s eventual replacement would involve not only engineering decisions, but also political controversy, community pressure and competing visions for Fremantle’s future.
The safety of the bridge was famously questioned by former independent MP Adele Carles, who feared it might collapse into the Swan River.
• Former independent MP Adele Carles was a passionate advocate for replacing the old bridge, saying it was so dilapidated, she wouldn’t drive over it.
“The Freo Traffic Bridge is the gateway to the city but it looks unsafe to me and I avoid going over it,” Ms Carles told the Herald in June 2010.
But the issue really took on steam after the refuelling vessel Parmelia 1 struck Fremantle’s railway bridge next door on May 3, 2011.
The collision damaged railway infrastructure and disrupted services on the Fremantle line.
The incident did not involve the 1939 road bridge, but it brought attention to the vulnerability of river crossings in a working port and Ms Carles intensified her campaign to get it replaced or repaired properly.
She publicly challenged the Barnett government over an engineering report commissioned in 2004 which warned the bridge could collapse if struck by a ship.
• Too cruddy to drive on, but too beautiful to lose, say these protestors who believed the traffic bridge could find a new life as a community venue.
When Labor’s efforts to get hold of the report were given the flick by the Barnett government, tongues began to wag when Ms Carles managed to get hold of it – her clandestine affair with then-treasurer Troy Buswell had just gone public.
The lawyer brushed off the gossip, arguing she’d just been diligent in her requests, then got stuck into both parties, saying they’d both failed to act adequately on the warning.
Premier Colin Barnett responded that replacement options were being considered while maintenance and inspections continued.
The Swan River Crossings project eventually grew into a debate about more than the bridge itself.
By the time a replacement design was being developed, the government was also deciding how traffic should approach the crossing and how the project would affect the surrounding neighbourhood.
Main Roads initially argued the new bridge couldn’t be on the same alignment, with thoughts of having to close the old one for a year furrowing their brows.
But their preferred alignments put almost everyone offside, so they went back to the drawing board and agreed to discussions with Fremantle council and its ambitious new mayor, Hannah Fitzhardinge.
In August 2022, she helped announced a preferred concept proposed diverting Canning Highway beneath the new bridge and changing the southern road layout.
The plan would remove the signalised intersection of Canning Highway and Queen Victoria Street and create more public space near the heritage-listed Naval Store.
But it also meant substantial changes to familiar road connections and the southern riverbank, with Design Freo being one of the groups who pilloried the approach.
It was back to the drawing board yet again, but on November 16, 2023, the McGowan government unveiled a new design that retained the existing road alignment and would deliver Australia its first-ever extradosed bridge.
Extradosed bridges are a hybrid between a conventional girder bridge and a cable-stayed bridge. The bridge deck is supported partly by cables running over relatively low towers, with the cables helping carry the load.
• A fleet of Labor pollies came out to turn the first sod for the replacement.
Turning point
The decision marked a turning point.
While there had been a concerted campaign to retain the old bridge in some form, such as a highline walkway to attract tourists, or even just a couple of lookouts poking out over the river, the new design placated many that the city wasn’t going have a boring slab of concrete foisted on it, and much of the campaign clamour faded away.
• The Fremantle Society and other groups pushed hard to have the old bridge retained as a highline feature.
The replacement was designed to provide two traffic lanes in each direction, wider shared paths for pedestrians and cyclists, and improved clearance for vessels travelling along the river.
The project was jointly funded by the Commonwealth and WA governments, with each contributing approximately $215 million.
The old bridge closed in February 2026 to allow construction to be completed.
The replacement, officially named Walyalup Bridge, is scheduled to open to traffic on Sunday November 1, but not until pedestrians get their chance to take a walk across.