or over 80 years, the Fremantle Traffic Bridge has connected people over the Swan River from Fremantle to Perth’s western suburbs. The bridge has been deteriorating for several years and needs to be replaced. Main Roads Western Australia requires a new bridge that would provide safe active transportation infrastructure, serve as an iconic gateway to the Port city, and be delivered on a fast-tracked timeline to keep people and transportation moving.
As part of the Fremantle Bridges Alliance, we leveraged our global bridge engineering expertise and local experience to design the new Fremantle Traffic Bridge – Australia’s first extradosed bridge. This innovative design combines balanced cantilever precast segmental construction with cable supports. We also engineered the bridge to accommodate an unconventional construction approach, allowing it to be built alongside the existing bridge and minimizing closure time.
The new bridge will provide safe and active connections from Fremantle to Perth’s western suburbs for at least the next 100 years. River users will benefit from improved navigational safety with higher and wider clearances for boats and other watercraft. Cyclists and the community will have wider pathways on each side of the bridge. This project has the potential to become a central feature in Fremantle’s future development.
Iconic bridge designed on a fast-tracked schedule
An extradosed bridge, combining prestressed box girders and cable support, has never been built in Australia. This design was chosen with the community in mind, offering Fremantle an iconic gateway to Perth. With fewer piers for river users to navigate, minimal impact on Beach Street and Canning Highway, and a construction method that minimizes the duration of the required closure for the existing bridge, the design balances functionality with local needs.
Our team, working as part of the Fremantle Bridges Alliance, faced the challenge of delivering this iconic bridge design within a fast-tracked program. To minimize risk, we mobilized our experts in extradosed and precast segmental bridge design from Europe to collaborate with our local team on the concept and detailed design. With our global experts embedded in our team, we have the expertise to realize this unconventional design approach and upskill the local industry.
Traditional construction methods posed risks to the fast-tracked schedule and could have caused extended disruptions. We designed to allow for most of the new bridge to be constructed alongside the existing bridge. The precast segmental design means the bridge is designed to be built in short sections that are precast offsite, which allows for greater quality control and safer construction. The methodology allows for a significant portion of the bridge to be built before the existing bridge’s closure, reducing the overall shutdown period. Our approach reduces the expected bridge closure time by approximately 50 percent.
Designing safe and accessible active transportation links
The bridge provides an opportunity to create safer and more accessible transportation connections for the community, cyclists, and river users. More than just a traffic bridge, the Swan River Crossings project integrates seamlessly with the urban landscape, enhancing Fremantle’s sense of place.
On the bridge, the pathway for pedestrians and cyclists has been expanded significantly, so people walking, cycling, and using wheelchairs can comfortably share the space and pause to take in the river views. Beneath the bridge, the number of piers has been reduced from 24 to two, providing wider clearances and making it easier and safer to navigate journeys below. The new bridge will also have a two-meter increase in clearance to allow for the safe movement of existing and future watercraft.
As Fremantle continues to grow, with new economic and land-use opportunities on the horizon, the new Fremantle Traffic Bridge will serve as a vital link and landmark connecting freight, people, and places.
The extradosed bridge design © Main Roads Western Australia
Cars driving along the Fremantle Traffic Bridge © Main Roads Western Australia
Pathways for pedestrians and cyclists with plenty of space © Main Roads Western Australia
The bridge will provide safer and more accessible transport connections for the community © Main Roads Western Australia
WSP / Laing O’Rourke
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