New $50m Swan River bridge

A new pedestrian and cyclist bridge will be built across the Swan River, as part of a broader $60 million infrastructure package announced by the state government.

The majority of the package will be used to fund construction of the $50 million bridge, which will be built west of the heritage-listed Causeway bridge – currently used by 1,400 cyclists and 1,900 pedestrians daily.

The new bridge will be at least six metres wide with 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 dedicated cycle and pedestrian lanes to allow for a safer crossing from the Perth CBD to Victoria Park

Transport Minister Rita Saffioti said the Causeway was one of the busiest connections into the CBD, with the current path too narrow to accommodate walkers, runners and riders.

“The shared path is uneven and becomes congested, causing conflict between cyclists and pedestrians,” she said.

Premier Mark McGowan said the project had been talked about for years.

“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," he said.

“It’s a signature project that will create hundreds of local jobs and deliver a pipeline of work for our local WA industry.”

The remaining $10 million under the package, which forms part of WA’s broader COVID-19 recovery efforts, will go towards other cycling projects.

That includes $3 million for a shared path on Soldiers Road, $2 million each for north-south and east-west cycle routes, $1.5 million for path and lighting upgrades, and $1.5 million to improve safety and connectivity around the RAC Arena.

The overall package adds to the $146 million already committed to cycling infrastructure.

More than 50 cycling projects are underway.