Passenger Terminal Footbridge

The pedestrian footbridge connecting Beach Street to the Passenger Terminal in Fremantle, also referred to as the Parry Street pedestrian overpass, Passenger Terminal footbridge, or simply “that closed footbridge”, was quietly closed in mid-2022.

No public announcement.

No published engineering report.

No repair strategy.

No demolition notice.

Just a locked gate and the phrase “safety concerns”.

Public Transport Authority (PTA)

The bridge is owned and controlled by the Public Transport Authority (PTA). Nearly three years later, there’s still no publicly available evidence explaining what actually happened, what investigations occurred, or why remediation was ruled out.

The claim: “structural safety concerns”.

According to statements attributed to the PTA, the bridge was closed pending structural investigations.

What remains unavailable:

• engineering assessments

• inspection reports

• risk findings

• costings for repair versus replacement

• timelines for any investigation

If such material exists, it hasn’t been released.

If it doesn’t exist, that raises a more serious question.

Timeline of the bridge’s closure

21 June 2022

Journalist Roel Looper receives a credible tip-off that the bridge is earmarked for demolition within 18 months. He contacts a PTA spokesperson seeking confirmation and details, including whether a replacement crossing is planned. No response is ever received.

July 2022

The Public Transport Authority (PTA) has stated that, following consultation with Fremantle Ports, the decision to close the bridge was made during this period, pending structural investigations. No investigation outcomes are published.

2 September 2022

Fremantle Shipping News reports that closure signage has been installed on the bridge. The PTA states safety is its “number one priority”. The bridge is now effectively removed from the pedestrian network, without any formal public process.

14 October 2022

The Fremantle Herald reports that while the City of Fremantle and Fremantle Ports hope the bridge will be replaced, the PTA shows little interest in doing so. As a result, cruise ship passengers are required to detour more than 1.3 kilometres to cross the rail corridor, instead of using the bridge just 250 metres away. The bus servicing the Passenger Terminal is not always available, particularly for passengers travelling to the terminal with heavy luggage, leaving many elderly and frail passengers with little choice but to walk.

28 October 2022

Passengers from the Coral Princess subsequently contact Roel Looper, describing the practical consequences of the closure. Elderly and mobility-impaired visitors report being forced to undertake the long detour to Fremantle Station on foot. Shuttle buses operate primarily around passenger arrival and departure times, including when cruise ships are docked for tourists to explore the area. Temporary service arrangements, however, do not replace permanent pedestrian infrastructure.

26 April 2023

At a City of Fremantle Ordinary Council Meeting (p.4), resident David Hudson asks two direct questions:

Why is the bridge closed?

Council states it understands the PTA closed it due to structural safety concerns.

Can Council get an update?

Council advises the PTA says it is developing “options” to put to the Minister.

No timeframe.

No documentation.

No further update since.

The contradiction: planning documents

This closure directly contradicts adopted planning policy.

2014–2015

Official planning documents, including the Victoria Quay Commercial Precinct Plan and Fremantle Station Precinct Plan, clearly state that:

• the Beach Street–Passenger Terminal footbridge is to be retained

• additional pedestrian connections are to be added, not removed

There is:

• no published amendment overturning this position

• no revised precinct plan removing the bridge

• no public justification for abandoning the strategy

The bridge has been removed in practice but not on paper.

The access problem

With the bridge closed:

• a direct, level-separated pedestrian link no longer exists

• elderly, frail and mobility-impaired users are disproportionately affected

• Fremantle’s cruise terminal loses its most logical pedestrian connection to the city

This isn’t a marginal inconvenience, it’s a measurable loss of accessibility.

What currently exists is administrative limbo. A public asset closed indefinitely without evidence, accountability or process.

Demolishing the bridge

To the City of Fremantle’s credit, repeated attempts were made to liaise with the Public Transport Authority (PTA). Those efforts were consistently ignored and left unanswered. The PTA showed little willingness to engage with Council during development planning periods, nor to cooperate in any meaningful way on the future of the bridge. No immediate alternatives were offered and no commitment was made for a long-term replacement, including the provision of a replacement pedestrian bridge.

The bridge was demolished in August 2024. No structural reports were released, no public explanation was provided, and no replacement crossing was delivered or committed to. What was framed as a temporary safety closure ended as permanent removal, without transparency or accountability.