Fremantle Traffic Bridge

Bridge in Fremantle, Western Australia

Coordinates32°02′28″S 115°45′16″E / 32.0412°S 115.7545°E / -32.0412; 115.7545 (Fremantle Traffic Bridge)

Fremantle Traffic Bridge
View from Fremantle in 2010
Coordinates	32°02′28″S 115°45′16″E / 32.0412°S 115.7545°E / -32.0412; 115.7545 (Fremantle Traffic Bridge)
Carries	Queen Victoria Street
Crosses	Swan River
Locale	Fremantle
Owner	Main Roads Western Australia
Preceded by	Stirling Bridge
Followed by	Fremantle Railway Bridge
Characteristics
Total length	219 metres
No. of lanes	4
History
Opened	15 December 1939
Closed	1 February 2026
Location
Interactive map of Fremantle Traffic Bridge

The Fremantle Traffic Bridge carries Queen Victoria Street over the Swan River, linking the suburbs of North Fremantle and Fremantle in Perth, Western Australia.

With the 1866-built bridge connecting North Fremantle and Fremantle in urgent need of replacement, work commenced on a replacement in November 1937.^[1] It was envisaged to have a short lifespan with Fremantle Harbour expected to be extended further east.^[2] Hence it was built out of timber rather than concrete. It opened on 15 December 1939.^[3]^[4]^[5]

In 1992 work on replacing the original timbers to extend the bridge's life by 25 years was completed.^[6]^{[full citation needed]}^[7]^{[full citation needed]}

Construction of a replacement bridge by a consortium of Arup, Laing O’Rourke and WSP commenced in September 2024.^[8]^[9]^{[full citation needed]} The project was altered with the new bridge to be built to the west of the current bridge rather than the east.^[10] The old bridge was closed on 1 February 2026.^[11] The replacement bridge is scheduled to open by February 2027.^[12]

References

↑ "Work Starts on Traffic Bridge". The Daily News. Vol. 55, no. 19553. Western Australia. 23 November 1937. p. 5. Retrieved 1 February 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
↑ "Swan & Canning Rivers Bridges. Australian Engineering Week Tour 2012" (PDF). Engineers Australia. 2012. pp. 20–21. Archived from the original on 16 March 2019. Retrieved 1 February 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
↑ "Traffic Bridge". The West Australian. Vol. 55, no. 16679. Western Australia. 16 December 1939. p. 16. Retrieved 1 February 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
↑ "Fremantle Bridge". The West Australian. Vol. 55, no. 16680. Western Australia. 18 December 1939. p. 14. Retrieved 1 February 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
↑ "Fremantle Traffic Bridge". Westralian Worker. No. 1624. Western Australia. 22 December 1939. p. 5. Retrieved 1 February 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
↑ "Fremantle Traffic Bridge". Commissioner of Main Roads Newsletter. November 1991. p. 1.^{[author missing]}^{[publisher missing]}^{[place missing]}
↑ "Fremantle celebrates its new bridge". Commissioner of Main Roads Newsletter. August 1992. p. 2.^{[author missing]}^{[publisher missing]}^{[place missing]}
↑ Saffioti, Rita (3 September 2024). "Construction of iconic Fremantle Traffic Bridge underway" (Media statement). Government of Western Australia. Archived from the original on 7 September 2024. Retrieved 31 January 2026.{{cite press release}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
↑ Swan River Crossings Main Roads Western Australia ^{[date missing]}
↑ Shine, Rhiannon (2 August 2021). "Fremantle Traffic Bridge to be replaced by altered Swan River Crossings project after backlash". ABC News. Retrieved 1 February 2026.
↑ Spagnolo, Joe (24 January 2026). "Fremantle Traffic Bridge closure: Local council looks to block 'rat runs' amid impending traffic chaos". PerthNow. Retrieved 1 February 2026.
↑ Hastie, Hamish (31 January 2026). "Freo bridge has officially closed. What happens next?". WAtoday. Retrieved 1 February 2026.

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