Treasurer hopeful Fremantle Traffic Bridge shutdown will be less than a year
Work has been done to prepare for the shutdown. (Supplied: Main Roads WA)
In short:
The Fremantle Traffic Bridge will shut for up to 12 months from February 1 so it can be demolished and replaced.
Treasurer Rita Saffioti says she is confident of being able to limit the closure to just that year or possibly less.
Transport authorities expect significant delays for motorists entering and exiting Fremantle across the Swan River.
The state government could consider limiting truck movements across the Stirling Bridge at peak hour to limit traffic congestion when the Fremantle Traffic Bridge closes next year, WA's deputy premier says.
The 86-year-old bridge will shut for up to 12 months from February 1 so it can be demolished and replaced, at a cost of $430 million.
Rita Saffioti told ABC Radio Perth she was confident of being able to limit the closure to just that year or possibly less.
The government says the bridge has been deteriorating for years, and despite extensive strengthening and maintenance works, needs complete replacement.
The bridge, which is 500 metres west of the Stirling Highway bridge, will be rebuilt with the same number of traffic lanes but have wider pedestrian paths and a higher clearance for boats.
But transport authorities predict its closure will have a "severe" impact on the road network, with significant delays expected for motorists entering and exiting Fremantle across the Swan River.
Ms Saffioti was asked if it was possible to limit truck movements to Fremantle port to set times to ease congestion.
"They're still issues we're broadly discussing with industry," she said.
"That's one of the issues we continue to discuss and whether, for example, limiting some truck movements for a particular set of time, in particular that morning peak, would be probably where we would look at.
"And those discussions continue."
Ms Saffioti said construction of the bridge was being done so that as much was being built on site as possible.
Concept designs for the replacement of the Fremantle Traffic Bridge over the Swan River. (Supplied: Main Roads WA)
"So when we close the bridge, we limit the time of that closure [to] as quickly as possible," she said.
"I'm really confident with the work that the team's doing down there to really limit that closure.
"We've said up to a year. Of course we'd love to do it within that time frame or much less time frame, and that's what everyone will be working towards."
What's changing?
Authorities are planning for a range of changes to the local transport network to accommodate for the bridge closure.
Those measures include:
- Additional train and bus services between Perth and Fremantle
- More free parking bays for SmartRider users
- Intersection changes along key routes to keep traffic flowing
- Free public transport in Fremantle's CBD
- Increased monitoring of traffic via CCTV
- Response vehicles staffed on site to respond quickly to accidents
- Introduction of a new traffic flow app
What are locals saying?
Fremantle Chamber of Commerce chief executive Chrissie Maus pleaded for people not to let the bridge closure deter them from visiting the port city.
"Please support our businesses," she told ABC Radio Perth.
"If people over Christmas or on the holidays are going, 'Well, I'm not going to Fremantle, it's just gonna be a disaster to get in there' … then [businesses] are going to disappear."
An aerial photo of the Fremantle Traffic Bridge site under construction in August 2025. (Supplied: Nearmap)
Ms Maus said businesses would be offered small grants to provide discounts to attract customers.
"They can use that grant to promote any offers like free burger days or anything that is going to shout out to everyone across Perth that we're alive, we're open … come and visit us, don't forget us."
'Get over it'
Fremantle Bicycle Users Group spokesman Jean-Paul Horne said the government could be doing more to mitigate the impact through minor upgrades to the Stirling Bridge.
An artist's impression of the bridge replacement. (Supplied: Main Roads)
"It's lines, signs and lights really," he told ABC Radio Perth.
"If they put a barricade on there that helps protect people from passing cars, some lights because it's really dark at night, repaint all the lines — those are things that make people feel safe and encourage people to walk.
"These are easy wins."
Rita Saffioti announcing the replacement of the Fremantle Traffic Bridge in 2019. (Supplied: Rita Saffioti)
Ms Saffioti pointed to recently announced improvements to cycling and pedestrian paths across the Stirling Bridge, and said the government would continue working with cycling groups to improve access.
Meanwhile Ms Maus said locals had been planning for the closure and had come up with a clever slogan — "Get over it."
"We have to get through this. We need to all together make lemonade out of lemons," she said.
"And we just need to get over it."
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