An MRWA spokeswoman said the bridge would be built – even though there was no definitive timeframe for the project.
“Provision for the Bartram Road Bridge is still included in the Metropolitan Region Scheme and while it was not specifically mentioned in the Perth Transport Plan, it is part of long-term transport planning for the area,” she said.
In a report to councillors, which they deferred voting on until they got further details, engineering and works services director Charles Sullivan said the city had met with MRWA staff in July, pushing the Bartram Road project to be included in the Perth Transport Plan.
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READ NOW“Advice at that time was that the bridge was not contemplated by MRWA, with this being formally confirmed in the release of that plan,” he said.
“MRWA does not foresee this connection is needed up to 2050 and possibly beyond.”
The proposed vehicle bridge, which will link Bartram Road in Success to Bartram Road in Atwell, had featured in Cockburn’s Regional and Major Roadworks 2013- 2030 plan as an $18 million carriageway.
But in the city’s corporate business plan, adopted by councillors in June, that was changed to an $8 million pedestrian bridge to be built between 2022-25.
Cockburn councillor Steve Portelli said elected members were caught out by the change because it was in small print on a map that no councillor had been briefed on. Mr Sullivan said it had been downgraded because the needs of the area had changed over the past decade, with road links at Russell, North Lake and Armadale roads now the priority.
He said a single lane bridge for cars would cost about $25 $30 million, with the cost beyond the city’s means to fund alone.
Success Residents Association president Corey Gaidzionis said a pedestrian path across the freeway would be pointless because there were no points of interest on either side.
“From a student’s point of view it would be handy, but outside of that there wouldn’t be any benefit for the larger community,” he said. “I’d prefer more spent and see it achieve a purpose, like pulling traffic out of Cockburn Central.”