Windan Bridge
Perth's largest roadway project, the $313m Graham Farmer Freeway, was designed as a northern city bypass. The contract for the project included a bridge crossing over the Swan River, a 6.5km bypass and WA's first 1.6km road tunnel (Northbridge Tunnel). The Transfield Thiess Joint Venture chose a reinforced concrete incremental launch technique for the Swan River Bridge, which has been used on most large bridge projects in WA and also Melbourne's Bolte Bridge. The design brief stated that the six-lane road bridge had to be identical to the Goongoongup (Bunbury) rail bridge which runs parallel to it, only metres away. The incremental launch technique suited the shallowness of the Swan River, allowing appropriate pier spacing.
Graham Farmer Freeway is a 6.4-kilometre inner-city freeway that links Rivervale and Burswood with West Perth and Leederville, providing an east-west bypass of Perth's central business district. The freeway, in conjunction with Great Eastern Highway and Orrong Road, is also an important connection between the city centre and Perth Airport. It is allocated State Route 8, and was named in honour of the Australian rules footballer, Graham "Polly" Farmer, who played between 1953 and 1971 in both the West Australian and Victorian Football Leagues.
The freeway's western terminus is a hybrid interchange, combining a Full Y interchange with the Mitchell Freeway, an exit to James Street, and an entrance ramp from and exit ramp to Loftus Street. The interchange also incorporates a partial Y interchange that connects Charles Street to the Mitchell Freeway.
Immediately east of the interchange is the Northbridge Tunnel, Western Australia's only freeway tunnel. The 1.6-kilometre tunnel has three traffic lanes in each direction, with an escape passageway between the carriageways. The tunnel is colloquially known as the "Polly Pipe", a reference not only to the freeway's namesake, but also to the colloquialism "Poly Pipe" in reference to plastic pipes (commonly made from polyethylene or polyvinyl chloride materials) used in reticulation and plumbing.[1] Both tunnel portals feature public art installations. At the western end, there is a pictorial history of Northbridge, and at the eastern end, the Aboriginal artist Ron Corbett created images based on indigenous artwork. The transportation of dangerous goods and explosives through the freeway tunnel is prohibited.
After crossing Windan Bridge, Graham Farmer Freeway continues into Burswood as a six lane freeway. There is a diamond interchange with Victoria Park Drive for access to the adjacent Belmont Park Racecourse, and the nearby Crown Perth complex. The eastern terminus is a modified diamond interchange with Great Eastern Highway, that includes a looped ramp for the south-westbound to north-eastbound traffic movement. The freeway continues south-east as Orrong Road, an arterial road that is also part of State Route 8.
