Fremantle Traffic Bridge
The Fremantle Traffic Bridge marks the site where people have long chosen to cross the Swan River, probably prior to European settlement. The Bridge carries Stirling Highway across the Swan River at East Fremantle. The first recorded use of the site was as a ferry base. The first road bridge across the river at this locality was erected in 1866, using convict labour. By accounts it was a bit wobbly. In the water on the upstream, northern side of the present bridge can be seen rows of cut-off piles. These may be the remains of the convict bridge because the number of piles, six, in the rows closest to shore, appears to coincide with what can be seen in old photos.
The second bridge was built to coexist alongside the first, however the first bridge was demolished after this bridge, which also catered for trams, was opened in 1909. The current structure, the third bridge, was opened on 15 December 1939. It was a necessary piece of local infrastructure for Fremantle to cope with its growing involcement as a naval port. A concrete bridge was initially considered for this site at an estimated cost of £650,000 but, as there were plans to extend the existing harbour further upstream in the future, it was decided to construct a much cheaper temporary timber bridge at an estimated cost of £75,000. In view of the planned harbour extensions the bridge was only expected to be in use for 3 to 5 years but has now been in service for 70 years.
The road deck is built on a timber structure of beams and posts made from rough shapen jarrah logs mounted on concrete piles. The wider spans in the centre are supported by steel beams on four pier structures. There is additional steel work too, which was probably added over time, but sitting atop the rows of piles can be seen original steel beams slightly angled with fish plates in the middle to establish the camber of the roadway which eventually capped off the structure.
The bridge was designed by E W (Ernie) Godfrey, bridge engineer for the Main Roads Department from 1928 to 1957, who was responsible for the construction of many outstanding bridges throughout Western Australia. Alongside the bridge is a more recent rail bridge which was erected upstream from the original rail bridge, which was also made of roughly shapen jarrah timbers. The newer rail bridge was built and opened in 1964 as part of an upgrade of port facilities which included the building of the Fremantle Port Authority building, the Fremantle Passenger Terminal and the North Fremantle container terminal.
For the Fremantle Traffic Bridge Godfrey devised an ingenious method to protect the timber piles from attack by teredo and other marine borers. It consisted of an external sleeve of concrete pipes, which were lowered over the head of each pile after they had been driven, and extended from 4 feet below the river bed to 4 feet above normal water level. The annulus or space between the pile and the inside of the pipe was then filled with clean sand. This proved successful in protecting the piles for many years.
In 1978 the bridge deck was strengthened with a concrete overlay and major repairs to the bridge, costing over $1 million, were carried out in 1992. These included strengthening the top sections of the piles, which had been weakened by rot at the water line, and replacing the earlier protection against marine teredo attack by encasing the piles in concrete down to river bed level.
The bridge is 219m long with two navigation spans, each having a clear navigation clearance of 15.5m between fender timbers, a 12m wide underpass at the south abutment and 22 timber spans of 6m. The two navigation spans, the intervening length between them and the underpass are spanned by a steel superstructure consisting of longitudinal girders, cross beams and stringers, supporting a timber deck.
Proposals are being considered for a new traffic bridge across the Swan River to replace the existing timber bridge structure. The project involves the design of the new traffic bridge, the creation of new pedestrian links across the river and the retrofitting of the old traffic bridge to become an iconic public destination. It is intended that these design moves will act as a catalyst to regenerate the adjacent area.
