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Highline Plan 2021
In 2021 a 'Highline' Plan has been proposed. Part of the proposal involves the retention and continued use of the (mostly) wooden 1939 Fremantle Traffic Bridge.
The Save Old Fremantle Bridge Alliance's Isadora Noble (second from right) says the old bridge must be preserved. (ABC News: Eliza Laschon)
Brad Pettitt, then mayor, first proposed something along those lines in the following four posts in his blog in 2020—particularly in part 3.
The Mayor's comment on the Mains Roads published plan—from his blog, 20 August 2020
===== A better bridge is possible
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Finally the state government has gone public on it new Fremantle bridge design and it's … well … not great.
One of the things they are trying to tell us is their planned bridge alignment and design is the ONLY design possible – the only one that could possibly be built.
Well that is not true. It is not the only possible design and it is certainly not the best one. In fact it is hard to imagine a worse outcome on a number of levels.
1. The new traffic bridge is in a problematic location. Built upriver of the current bridge this means on its north bank it will be unacceptably close to homes in North Fremantle. There will also be a loss of green space and parking for those using the river and bridge for fishing. On the south side the only green space within the City of Fremantle on the South side of the Swan River connected to the water will be lost. N. Worrall Park will be no more. Mainroads is saying that there will be a new green space located between the two bridges. Putting aside who wants to picnic jammed between the underbelly of a rail and road bridge, this steep largely unusable location will have no access to the water as the port pilot boats park there and there is no plan to move them.
2. The project will almost totally demolish the state heritage listed old bridge. The plan is for little of this structure to remain. On the north bank it will disappear entirely. On the south side, it will be chopped off above Beach Street on one end and chopped off only few metres over the water on the other. It won’t look like a bridge, read like a bridge or be able to be used like a bridge. It will look like a random collection of sticks with little heritage relevance. The City of Fremantle won’t take on it ownership if offered in this limited form as it will be nothing but a liability for ratepayers. There is a better option as we highlighted before resuming far more of the bridge as Fremantle High Line. That would be a real asset.
3. A circuitous principal shared bike path (PSP) that doesn’t make it all the way to Fremantle and stops randomly behind some bus stops with no clear route in to Fremantle. Where else in any WA transport network is this poor planning allowed to happen? This bridge project work needs to align with planning for a PSP that finally finishes this key route direct from the Fremantle centre to the Perth centre. A new bridge may work against this is just poor planning and investment.
4. An unattractive new bridge. The new bridge won’t be beautiful or iconic. It will look like every other concrete bridge in Perth. Think Mount Henry, the Narrows, Stirling etc. A cheap and functional replacement. We only get to build a new bridge west of the Perth CBD once in a generation and it shouldn’t be a rushed cheap job. But that is what we are getting.
5. Further loss of Navy Store forecourt. The heritage listed navy store has had its forecourt eaten away by expanding roads and a bridge in the proposed eastern location will only exacerbate this making this potentially great community space less usable. If the bridge was built further down river it would have enable the Navy Store’s forecourt to be reinstated.
While this may seem a bit depressing, it needn’t be. There are design outcomes that can address all of the above issues in a far better way. We just need Mainroads and the state government to slow down, consult properly with the Fremantle community (rather than try and sell a dud which they are currently doing).
I will follow this post up with a range of possible solutions and options for each of the issues above. We would love your feedback on this as we go forward as the Fremantle community deserve a real say.
The Mayor's blog continued, 25 August 2020
A Better Bridge is Possible (Part 2): A bridge in the wrong location
The new traffic bridge is in the wrong location.
North Side Impacts
Built upriver/East of the current bridge this means on its north bank it will be unacceptably close to homes in North Fremantle.
I am told it could be as close a 4m from people balconies as the new traffic bridge takes out green space and parking for those using the river and bridge for fishing.
Mainroads argument for doing this is there is only 30m between the old traffic bridge and existing rail bridge on the North side which they claim is not enough room.
Let's break this claim down.
While the 30m figure is correct Mainroads they fail to mention is that there is also only about 30m on the other side between the housing and old traffic bridge. So the space available on the north side at the east and west locations is roughly equal.
What can kind of bridge can you fit into a 30m gap? As the illustration below show you can fit bridge with a footpath, one side, bike and footpath the other (more than what Mainroads are proposing), four lanes of traffic and a medium into only 20.6 m. This bridge is easily wider than the current bridge which in only about 17m but easily fits.
South Side Impacts
What are the impacts of an eastern alignment for the bridge south of the river? For a start, the only green space within the City of Fremantle on the South side of the Swan River connected to the water will be lost. N Worrall Park will be no more.
Mainroads is saying that there will be a new green space located between the two bridges. Putting aside who wants to picnic jammed between the underbelly of a rail and road bridge, this steep, largely unusable location will have no access to the water as the port pilot boats park on this section and there is no plan to move them.
The other implication is the bridge will further impact on the forecourt of the historic Navy Store which has had its forecourt eaten away by expanding roads.
A bridge in the proposed eastern location will only exacerbate this making this potentially great community space less usable. If the bridge was built further down river it would have enable the Navy Store’s forecourt to be reinstated and this building to better connect to Cantonment Hill and river.
Why this location?
When this project was announced this is also clearly where the Minister expected it to go to the west in between the two bridges.
File:Freotopia society img saffioti.jpg
So why isn’t it to the west as planned?
This change of direction by Mainroads is a bit long and complex but is largely driven by the state government belatedly planning to build a new dual track passenger rail bridge to the east of the existing rail bridge. This is despite the current rail bridge having between 40-60 years of life left in it yet.
But didn’t the original press release say they were going to build a dedicated freight line, not two new passenger lines? Yes it did and frankly this is what they should go back to.
If you built a single freight line on the Freo Port side and there would be plenty of room for the new traffic bridge to move back west between the two bridges.
Mainroads don’t like this because the gentler gradients freight requires means the ramps each side are longer than new passenger line ramps. Instead they want to continue to run freight on a passenger rail bridge that was not built for this purpose. Not only will this mean ongoing excess noise and rail wheel squeal but it has the flow on consequences of pushing all the other new bridges up stream with all the poor impacts on residents and community.
A better bridge outcome is possible.
The Mayor's blog continued, 8 September 2020
A Better Bridge is Possible (Part 3): better heritage outcomes
What could the old bridge become?
It has long been the City of Fremantle position that the old state heritage-listed bridge should not just be demolished but instead turned into something special.
In the Freo 2029 Transformational Moves report it was envisaged that there was a “unique opportunities to retain and re-use all or parts of the existing bridge structure for use by pedestrians and cyclists. Not only could access across the river for pedestrians and cyclists be significantly improved, the bridge could also become a major public space in itself, providing lookout places and seating and could even accommodate community activities such as markets.”
Under the current MRWA plans, however, the old bridge is likely to disappear. They are proposing leaving a small section of bridge 19m over the water but not connected to the road side or water side to anything.
While this wasn’t clear in the materials they have put on line or posted to Fremantle household it could be seen on the more detailed drawing at the Mainroads open days.
Sadly this remanent won’t read as a bridge anymore but as some undefined structure. It is also not clear what this small remnant might be used for and heritage without a use is in danger of becoming a liability. It certainly isn’t something that the City of Fremantle will take on. I fear that as a result we may see the bridge disappear entirely with the exception of a few sticks in the water as happened with the historic Mandurah bridge.
It needs to be remembered that this old bridge is a state listed heritage asset. The Fremantle Society has described it as the longest wooden bridge in WA. It is an intricate and interesting structure that should be retained as fully as possible.
A better heritage outcome is possible with some innovative thinking.
That said, I do accept that it may not be able to be fully retained as there are some issues around safe navigation of boats underneath but it is unacceptable that so little of it, just on one side of the river, is proposed to be retained.
Perhaps the middle section could be opened up (not much of this is original anyway) to improve navigation but the bridge itself is still a great pedestrian space.
There are many good examples of this kind of retrofitting internationally.
Like the old Fremantle Traffic Bridge, New York’s High Line was once destined for demolition. Luckily, the community rallied together to repurpose it instead, creating a 2.3km long linear park. Since opening in 2009, the High Line has become an icon of contemporary landscape architecture and a global inspiration for cities to transform unused industrial zones into dynamic public spaces.
Less well known is Seoullo 7017 which is an elevated, linear park in Seoul, built atop a former 1970s highway overpass. The path, which opened in 2017 is about one kilometre in length and lined with 24,000 plants.
A better old bridge outcome is possible too.
The Mayor's blog continued, 14 September 2020
A Better Bridge is Possible for Pedestrians and Cyclists (Part 4)
Another key aspect of this project where there is plenty of room for improvement is outcomes for pedestrians and cyclists.
From a cycling perspective, this river crossing is a vital piece of the puzzle – finally connecting Fremantle to Perth with a principal shared path but this project doesn’t succeed in doing this well.
First, the proposed shared path does not take the most direct and logical path into Fremantle, which would be along the rail bridge. Instead it diverts east to the traffic bridge taking cyclists up river from where they want to go.
Furthermore, despite their graphic giving the impression that the principal shared path will connect further south to Fremantle CBD, the proposed path.
Also on the south side the bridge offers little room for pedestrian to access the historic Nay Store. On the north side of the river from a pedestrian perspective there is an opportunity to link the shared path on the bridge to the shared path in front of Northbank apartments without pedestrians needing to cross traffic. But there is no indication the project will do this either.
City of Fremantle staff have been arguing there is a case for a footpath both side of the bridge which I fully support. As the diagram below [above] shows you can fit all this into a design with a width of around 22 metres.
We also need to ensure that the pedestrian and cycling space is at the same level as vehicles so that there is good passive surveillance. The idea of cyclists and pedestrian been hidden out of sight from the road like the Mount Henry or even new Mandurah Bridge is not desirable but this is what is currently being proposed. Not a place you would want be a young woman, late at night.
Essentially, the aim should be for a low speed, integrated design that understands the value and complexity of the interfaces between road, cycleway and footpath – not a freeway inspired design that seeks to separate these with a resulting poor urban amenity outcome.
Multi-modal bridges like the Westminster bridge offer a good way forward on this. A better bridge is possible.
References and Links
Peterson, Oliver, 2 August, 2021, '"Don’t destroy it" – the fight to save a slice of Freo history', 6PR, Perth.
Shine, Rhiannon, 'Fremantle Traffic Bridge to be replaced by altered Swan River Crossings project after backlash', ABC News, 2 August 2021.
Nadia Mitsopoulos interview with Dr Carmen Lawrence, ABC Radio Perth, 2 August 2021.
Fremantle Society, Fremantle Traffic Bridge, campaign page.
Fremantle Society blog, 'Bridge of Broken Promises', 25 May 2020.
Fremantle Society blog, 'A Bridge Too Far', 5 June 2020.
Pettitt, Brad, 2019, The mayor's blog entry welcoming the bridge funding commitment, 28 March: 'Our plan is for a new bridge to be built between the existing traffic bridge and the rail bridge, and to convert the old bridge into a pedestrian and cycleway.'
Ricciardi, Kristen 2020, 'A Bridge Too Far?', Fremantle Herald, 24 July.
Main Roads website, showing where the new bridge would be built.
Engineering Heritage Panel, Swan & Canning Rivers Bridges: Australian Engineering Week Tour 2009.
'New Fremantle Traffic Bridge funded in State Budget', govt media statement, 22 April 2019.
Loopers, Roel 2021, Can heritage dream be a bridge to reality?', freoview, 30 July.
This page incorporates material from Garry Gillard's Freotopia website, that he started in 2014 and the contents of which he donated to Wikimedia Australia in 2024. The content was originally created on 16 August, 2021 and hosted at freotopia.org/bridges/highline.html (it was last updated on 20 April, 2024), and has been edited since it was imported here (see page history). The donated data is also preserved in the Internet Archive's collection.