$50M PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE INSPIRED BY INDIGENOUS FIGURES
01 Oct 2020
A $50 million pedestrian and cycling bridge will be constructed over from Victoria Park to the city over the Swan River, via Heirisson Island, in Perth, with the design inspired by two historical Indigenous figures associated with the island.
Early designs for the bridge have been released by the Western Australian government.
The bridge, which will be located on the country of the Whadjuk Noongar people, features a gentle curve, supported by 35-40-metre-high boomerang-shaped pylons. The design has been developed by multidisciplinary firm IPV Delft in consultation with a Whadjuk working group.
The bridge will stretch over 650 metres, with 250 metres over the Swan River on the Victoria Park side and 140 metres on the city side. A 270-metre path will traverse through Heirisson Island, connecting the two bridges.
The design of the bridge is inspired by the stories of two historical indigenous figures, Noongar Whadjuk woman Fanny Balbuk and Noongar man Yagan. Fanny Balbuk lived on the Swan River in the early days of colonisation and is renowned for her resistance to colonial invasion. Yagan is renowned for his resistance to British colonial settlement in the early 1800s. 
The bridge will provide a safe option for people walking and cycling, and will remove traffic pressure from the heritage-listed Causeway bridge to the east of Perth. “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,” said WA Transport Minister Rita Saffoti.
“The shared path is uneven and becomes congested causing conflict between cyclists and pedestrians, with more than 1400 cyclists and 1900 pedestrians using the path daily.”
The new path will be at minium six metres-wide, with dedicated cycle and pedestrian lanes.
Planning and design will continue with tenders to be released in 2021.
Images via IPV Delft
