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For North Fremantle business owners, Christmas is arriving two months early.
After months of enduring a ghost town of empty roads and dwindling foot traffic, local traders are breathing a sigh of relief as the official opening date of the new Fremantle Traffic Bridge was set for November 1.
The bridge was originally tipped to open in the first half of 2027, but fast-tracked construction has enabled it to open early.
Old Bridge Cellars owner Jay Beeson said the news came as a great surprise after months of trading with significantly less foot traffic.
“It was a lovely sort of early Christmas present to wake up to,” he said.
“There were rumours on the strip that it was going to open hopefully sometime in November, but to hear that officially was amazing news.”
Beeson said the impact of the closure was as bad as they expected, “which was quite horrific”.
“The stats from the Fremantle Port was that there’s 90 per cent less cars driving down this road, and for us about 40 per cent less foot traffic through the door,” he said.
“So it’s pretty substantial, but we think it will spring back pretty quick because everyone’s going to want to drive over the new bridge.”
Beeson said the support from the North Fremantle community kept them afloat since the closure in February.
“We just wanted to keep all the staff employed, keep the door open, and we had some amazing support from the locals because they didn’t want to go out into the traffic,” he said.
“So we saw an uptick from the local community, but we look forward to welcoming all our customers back.”
Ooh Coffee manager Joel Smith said the local businesses on the street were looking forward to having more foot traffic.
“We’ve been hearing over the last few months that the bridge might open sooner so it wasn’t too much of a surprise, but still great to hear,” he said.
“I think this new bridge will really help with the walkability and the cycle-ability of the area because the old bridge was terrible to cycle over. So if that happens and this whole summer we’ve got people riding and walking over here it’ll be very exciting.”
The joint state and federal project was originally expected to cost $280 million in 2022, but this has almost doubled to $596 million.
Deputy Premier Rita Saffioti said this was due to material prices increasing and engineering choices to improve driver convenience.
Following the bridge opening, the temporary road changes made prior to the bridge closure will be removed, including access to and from Fremantle via Canning Highway.
Saffioti said she was looking forward to the opening of the bridge, with the major structural work already completed.
“What we’re doing now is asphalting and tying in the new bridge to the existing roads, both north and south,” she said on Sunday.
“There might be some further vegetation and other works. I think the lighting is finished too now. So when it opens on November 1, all the structural work will be done.”
A community celebration will be held on the day to mark the opening, with attendees able to walk across the new bridge before it officially opens to traffic later that evening.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the bridge in East Fremantle, the impact of the closure has been hit-and-miss.
Young George owners Melissa Palinkas and Susan Whelan called time on their popular eatery in April, citing the bridge as the final straw behind its closure.
But Eugene’s Pizzeria and Deli owner Marco Zorzin said they only had to adjust their pizza delivery hours to accommodate for extra traffic caused by the bridge.
“We managed with the North Fremantle issue. We addressed it on the website that we would be delaying the deliveries by a couple of hours just to avoid that peak hour,” he said.
“We open up at 4pm, and pretty much Wednesday to Friday, I don’t go to North Freo until 6.30pm.
“But trading has probably been growing. Maybe we had a little slow turn in May or June. But that was due to weather and wars and price hikes and so on.”
Zorzin said it would be nice to have a new bridge and to be able to deliver pizzas at their usual times again.
Fremantle Chamber of Commerce chief executive Chrissie Maus said the closure hadn’t been the “armageddon” that they were expecting.
“It was built up as this end of the world, and no, it hasn’t been the end of the world that everyone expected,” she said.
“However, businesses in North Fremantle have really been feeling it. So, if you are going to give some businesses some love between now and the bridge opens, please make sure you head into North Fremantle.”
Maus said the chamber had pushed to have the bridge open before Christmas to allow for the busy trade season to operate at its full capacity.
“It was a bit of a relief for us because that Christmas period for our traders is super important. Some of our businesses make over that three-month period of Christmas, the most they do all year,” she said.
“So it’s absolutely critical for some of our businesses and critical that that bridge got open.”
Fremantle MLA Simone McGurk said the bridge would be an integral part of the future of the area and credited the community for its patience.
“The construction period has required patience from residents, businesses and the wider community, so I’m delighted they will have the opportunity to be among the first to walk across the new bridge,” she said.
Fremantle Mayor Ben Lawver echoed those sentiments.
“I think it’s great the bridge is opening at the start of summer months earlier than expected,” he said.
“This is wonderful news for our local businesses, residents, and commuters.”
Further details about the community event will be provided in the coming weeks.
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