The state government has unveiled a new design for the replacement of the Fremantle traffic bridge after the local community opposed previous plans, and a 12-month closure now looms.
The 85-year-old, largely wooden bridge was planned to be temporary and has lasted twice as long as its builders anticipated, but it is rusting, rotting and has been deemed a serious safety risk after having been hit by boats.
A 2004 engineering report found that the risk of the bridge collapsing due to a ship collision was 66 times higher than accepted standards, resulting in hundreds of deaths depending on the time of day.
A new โimprovedโ design was unveiled on Thursday after what was supposed to be a โfinalโ design, released last year and proposing changes to the existing road layout, sparked criticism from locals.
The new bridge will be built in the same location and will maintain two travel lanes in each direction, but will add pedestrian and cyclist lanes up to four meters wide on both sides.
Beach Street will remain a local access road and the โContainbowโ art installation, an arch of rainbow-coloured shipping containers, will remain at its current location on Canning Highway.
Transport Minister Rita Saffioti said the consultation which had been taking place since 2019 had generated โmany comments, some contradictoryโ.
"We tried several different designs and I recognize that," Transportation Minister Rita Saffioti told reporters.
โSome of them were really trying to improve or change the whole landscape, particularly the southern embankment.
โWe got feedback, people saying they wanted to change the configuration of the road leading to the bridge, that we needed to create more space in front of The Naval Store.
โIt was clear that there was no consensus.
"Now we believe that building the bridge where it is will be much easier for the entire community."
Ms Saffioti said the new design had better navigation clearances for vessels underneath and would be Australia's first "extradosed" bridge, combining cantilevers and cable support.
The bridge is expected to need to be closed for up to 12 months, but this is not expected to happen until 2025.
Subject to development approval, during which the community will again have the opportunity to comment on the latest design, the earliest construction could begin in the second half of 2024.
Once timelines have been established, Main Roads will communicate with the community and local businesses regarding closure dates and traffic management.
The planned reconstruction of the nearby railway bridge has been postponed, blamed on the epic task of planning a new container port at Kwinana.
The aim will be to keep the closure to a minimum, and the state government said it had learned a few tricks when building the new bridge over the Fitzroy River after the old one was destroyed in record flooding in January.
The Kimberley Bridge is expected to open later this year, more than six months ahead of schedule.
