Institution of Engineers places Narrows Bridge among National Engineering Landmarks

19/11/99
Premier Richard Court today described the Narrows Bridge as one of the State's transport icons.
Officiating at a special ceremony to mark the 40th anniversary of the construction of the bridge and its inclusion by the Institution of Engineers, Australia in its list of National Engineering Landmarks, Mr Court said the Government's decision to duplicate the bridge had reinforced the excellent work of the contractors who worked on the original river crossing and the foresight of Perth's early planners.
"The fact that there is now to be a second bridge with the same architectural appearance and aesthetics as the existing bridge is a tribute to the expertise of the original contractors," the Premier said.
The Narrows Bridge is the seventh site in Western Australia to be recognised by the Institution of Engineers Heritage Committee and only the third to be named as one of its National Engineering Landmarks. The others being the Goldfields Pipeline and the Fremantle Harbour.
Mr Court said each of the projects that had been recognised had played a crucial role in the development of the State.
"The Narrows Bridge was the first visual sign of the implementation of the 1955 Stephenson Hepburn report "Plan for the Metropolitan Region, Perth and Fremantle" which changed the direction of development of the metropolitan area to a north-south axis," the Premier said.
Mr Court also confirmed that the construction of the second Narrows Bridge at a contract price of $49 million was on schedule for completion before the end of next year.
"It's envisaged the construction of the bridge will be finished in August, and following commissioning work, open to traffic in November," the Premier said.
"The new bridge will almost double the number of lanes available to motorists using the bridge and will allow for the operation of dedicated bus lanes in each direction - dramatically improving commuter transit times and the frequency of public transport services."
The second Narrows Bridge forms part of the Government's $355 million up-grade of the Kwinana Freeway featuring the recently upgraded transitway between the city and Murdoch, the extension of the freeway south to Safety Bay Road and construction of flyover bridges at the freeway intersections currently controlled by traffic lights.
Media contact: Bronwyn Hillman 9222 9475