West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954), Wednesday 11 August 1954, page 1


CABINET PLANS

BRIDGE AT NARROWS The State Cabinet has decided on preliminary work being done for the eventual construction of a bridge over the Swan River at the Narrows. The decision was announced yesterday by the Minister for Works (Mr. Tonkin).

Mr. Tonkin said that Cabinet had adopted a number of recommend-ations made by the Com-missioner of Main Roads, (Mr. J. D. Leach). These recommendations were: * Commencement of founda-tion testing by boring along the proposed line of crossing of the river. * The Housing Commission be advised that a 2½-chain re-servation will be needed for a controlled access roadway through the Brentwood Estate bordering Bull's Creek-road, Canning district) and the Com-mission be requested to include this reservation in the planning of the area. * The Public Works Depart-ment be asked to (a) make some water jet probings along the line of possible alternate Crossings of the Canning River and (b) examine requirements for reclamation in Mount's Bay for road approaches and parking areas and, as a prelim-shary to this, carry out hydro-graphic survey as may be re-quired. "Urgency" Mr. Tonkin said that Mr. Leach had reported that there was no alternative to a bridge over the Narrows and that its construction was a matter of some urgency. Mr. Leach had advised that the Causeway eastern rotary was operating at peak periods with a traffic density of at least 4,253 vehicles an hour. This figure, taken by census at the end of February last, would have been 25 per cent greater, or about 5,300 vehicles per hour, for a peak half-hour period. American research had decid-ed that where intensity of a rotary exceeded 5,000 vehicles an hour, the rotary should be replaced by some other type of approach. Half the traffic approached or left the Causeway via Canning-highway, indicating that half the traffic using the Causeway was generated in areas to the south and downstream from the Causeway. Population The Town Planning Commis-sioner (Mr. J. A. Hepburn) had estimated that south of the river there might be an increase of population of 1,000,000 people in a ten-year period. Mr. Leach reported that it would take up to six months to complete survey work for a Narrows bridge. Meanwhile a determination should be made of the required overhead clearance water level for river craft. After this, design of the bridge could proceed. Tenders It was recommended that tenders be invited under de-partmental general supervision with submission of details by the several tenderers. Tenders should be open for 12 months. The Cabinet was told that the work would be one of some magnitude and should attract many bridge building firms with large resources of plant and equipment. After receipt of tenders, examination and adjudication would require up to six months and, after the letting of a con-tract, construction would take two years. It would therefore be four years at the earliest before a new bridge and approaches would be available. (Traffic Density, Page 4.)