As part of the WA Recovery Plan, the McGowan Government will build a new iconic bridge across the Swan River, taking pedestrians and cyclists off the existing Causeway bridge.
A further $60 million has been injected into additional cycling infrastructure, continuing an unprecedented investment in the area by the McGowan Government.
The feature project is a new pedestrian and cyclist bridge to be constructed west to the heritage-listed Causeway bridge, across the Swan River.
The new river crossing will provide a safer connection from the Perth CBD to Victoria Park and beyond, for people walking and riding.
It's estimated the new bridge will cost around $50 million, with the concept released today following initial consultation with the Wadjuk working group. Consultation will continue, to ensure the bridge showcases local Aboriginal heritage and meets environmental needs.
The design of the structural elements of the bridges derive inspiration from the stories of Fanny Balbuk and Yagan - two key figures associated with Heirisson Island.
Final design and planning will continue, with tenders to be released in 2021. Main Roads will enter into an alliance arrangement, ensuring work is completed by local Western Australian companies, with the steel fabricated locally using WA's expertise.
Currently, more than 1,400 cyclists and 1,900 pedestrians funnel through the two-metre-wide Causeway path each day, equating to 500,000 bike trips a year.
The new path will be at least 6 metres wide, with dedicated cycle and pedestrian lanes.
It will be comprised of two river crossings - measuring 250 metres on the Victoria Park side and 140 metres on the City of Perth side - connected by a 270 metre path through Heirisson Island. It will also have around 2.8 metres more clearance over the river than The Causeway.
The pylons in the Swan River will be between 35 and 40 metres high.
In addition to the new cycling and pedestrian bridge over the Swan River, a further $10 million has been funded for other cycling projects, including:
- $3 million to deliver the Soldiers Road Shared Path, connecting Mundijong to the rapidly developing Byford Town Centre;
- $2 million to design and construct a north-south bicycle route along Bennett Street in East Perth, connecting Riverside Drive to Royal Street;
- $2 million to deliver an east-west bicycle route along Moore, Wittenoom and Nile Streets in Perth and East Perth, helping to connect Barrack Street Bridge to Matagarup Bridge;
- $1.5 million to deliver path and lighting upgrades along the existing shared path that connects Waterbank Perth to the Matagarup Bridge; and
- $1.5 million to improve safety and connectivity around RAC Arena.
As stated by Premier Mark McGowan:
"WA is capable of anything, and just like the Matagarup Bridge, this new iconic bridge will be built by Western Australians, for Western Australians.
"It is a signature project that will create hundreds of local jobs and deliver a pipeline of work for our local WA industry.
"It's a project that has been talked about for years - we're going to get on with it and build it.
"The heritage-listed Causeway bridges continue to serve our community, but we know it's unsafe for cyclists and pedestrians - this new project will solve that problem once and for all.
"Providing safe, high-quality infrastructure that encourages people to walk and cycle brings many benefits for our community."
As stated by Transport Minister Rita Saffioti:
"The Causeway is one of the busiest connections into central Perth, and the current path has long been recognised as too narrow to accommodate demand from people walking, running and riding.
"The shared path is uneven and becomes congested causing conflict between cyclists and pedestrians, with more than 1,400 cyclists and 1,900 pedestrians using the path daily.
"This $60 million commitment to new bike paths in metropolitan Perth is on top of the $146 million we have already committed to cycling infrastructure across Western Australia with more than 50 projects underway over the next financial year.
"There are three main cycling priorities the cycling community wanted us to fix - the Fremantle Line PSP (Stage 1 now complete and Stage 2 to begin shortly), the Glendalough PSP along the Mitchell Freeway which we opened last month and the Causeway cycling bridge.
"In recent months, we have seen Western Australians take to our bike paths in record numbers. Cycling trips rose 45 per cent across metropolitan Perth in the June quarter. To put that in perspective, that means almost 80,000 more people per week were riding their bikes in June this year compared to the same time last year."
As stated by Perth MLA John Carey:
"Great liveable cities around the world encourage cycling and walking: it encourages healthier communities, creates activated streets and builds vibrant neighbourhoods.
"A signature project in this announcement is a pedestrian and cyclist bridge to be constructed alongside the heritage-listed Causeway bridges across the Swan River - a major bottleneck for CBD commuters.
"Additionally, we are also funding highly anticipated connections throughout the CBD, including connectivity around RAC Arena, which has been a major problem spot for cyclists."
