In May 2015, Main Roads WA (MRWA) from the Perth Department of Transport awarded Rizzani de Eccher Australia, in a joint venture with the Australian company York Civil (YRJV), the tender contract to design and build the pedestrian bridge over the Swan River in Perth (Western Australia) at a total cost of about 54 million AUD.
The work is designed to connect the residential zone of East Perth to the Burswood peninsula, already home to the Casino and where a new multi-purpose stadium is under construction.
This high-profile bridge is destined to become a new landmark for the city. Its shape resembles two entwined stylised swans, in the city’s traditional colours, white and black, and it is also reminiscent of the beloved mythological aboriginal “dreamtime serpent” Wagyl. The structure will consist of three spans, two lateral spans 95 metres long and one central span of 165 metres, making a total of approximately 360 metres. The work includes the construction of four reinforced concrete piers, two in the channel and two on the river banks, as well as the access ramps.
The supporting arches will be made of tubular steel in a reticular structure, with a suspended mixed steel-concrete deck that also rests on the central piers and the trusses. Another distinctive element of the design, besides the shape, is the bridge’s cladding, which includes a tensile structure formed of secondary elements and a translucent Teflon membrane, which permits multicoloured lighting from the inside.
The Denton Corker Marshall (DCM) studio in Melbourne was responsible for the architectural design, while the structural part was developed in its entirety by Deal, a company in the de Eccher Group, which will also handle various details regarding construction and lifting methods. Other local and international consultants are involved in the civil, hydraulic, and geotechnical elements.
Work is expected to be concluded by mid 2017.