- Lloyd Street Bridge project in Midland to progress after agreement reached with Traditional Owners over design
- Design endorsed following extensive consultation with Traditional Owners
- New design will significantly reduce bridge’s footprint, reducing vegetation clearing requirements by around 20 per cent
- Bridge to directly link Midland with the industrial areas of Hazelmere, as well as the extension of Lloyd Street to the Great Eastern Highway Bypass intersection
- Cook Labor Government committed to delivering quality infrastructure to support growing communities across Western Australia
Construction of the Lloyd Street Bridge in Midland is expected to begin before the end of the year after an agreement on design principles was reached with local Traditional Owners.
The agreement follows four years of consultation, collaboration, and design investigation to ensure the crossing avoids impact to culturally significant sites, including the Helena River and a seasonal pool located on the bridge’s alignment.
The new design features a 180-metre-long bridge, spanning most of the Helena River floodplain, with two sets of supporting piers to be positioned away from culturally sensitive areas.
The new design also significantly reduces the project’s footprint, reducing the vegetation clearing requirement by around 20 per cent.
The bridge will have two lanes in each direction, as well as paths for pedestrians and cyclists.
With key design principles agreed, the project will proceed to the detailed design stage. This will be accompanied by site investigations and broader stakeholder engagement.
Subject to detailed design progression, construction works could begin around the end of 2026.
The project will be broadened to include the connection of Lloyd Street to the intersection of Great Eastern Highway Bypass and Abernethy Road, completing the long-planned Lloyd Street link between the Great Eastern Highway and the Bypass.
Completion of the Lloyd Street extension is essential to cater for increasing traffic volumes in and around Midland as it grows, including its public and private hospitals.
It will also support the growth of the Hazelmere Industrial Area and reduce congestion on local roads, including Stirling Crescent, Military Road and Clayton Street.
By connecting Lloyd Street and the Great Eastern Highway Bypass, the project will enable future construction of the proposed Roe Highway and Great Eastern Highway Bypass Interchange.
The Lloyd Street Bridge project is being delivered by Main Roads on behalf of the City of Swan and is co-funded by the State and Federal Governments.
As stated by Transport Minister Rita Saffioti:
“The collaboration that has occurred between the State Government and the Traditional Owners on the Lloyd Street Bridge design has been on a scale rarely seen on major infrastructure projects.
“Back in 2022, Traditional Owners and other local stakeholders raised significant concerns about the impact of the bridge design on Aboriginal heritage sites and the environment.
“This resulted in the submission of a Section 10 Application to the Federal Government under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act.
“The State could have referred the Section 10 Application to the Federal Government for formal determination and continued to build the previous design, against the wishes of the Traditional Owners and other community representatives.
“Instead, our government, Main Roads, and the City of Swan listened, worked with the Traditional Owners to get a better understanding of their concerns and set out to work towards a design the whole community could be proud of.
“Over the past four years, the Main Roads project team has investigated various options and sought to incorporate feedback and input from the Traditional Owners.
“The agreed design, which will be one of the longest multi-span bridges in the State, is a result of collaborative co-design, and we thank the Traditional Owners and their advisors, the Bibbul Ngarma Aboriginal Association, for working with us to achieve a much better outcome.”
As stated by Midland MLA Steve Catania:
“Since being elected, I have been working hard to get the Lloyd Street Bridge project moving because our community deserves better access, less congestion and quality infrastructure.
“The Cook Labor Government is proud that after extensive consultation with Traditional Owners, an agreement on key design principles has been reached and the project can now move into detailed design and construction.
“We’ve worked hard behind the scenes to get to this outcome, and I thank the Traditional Owners for sharing their connections to this place with the project team, to enable a design to be developed that allows this important project to proceed.
“The new bridge and connection to Great Eastern Highway Bypass will provide a critical link through the heart of Midland and support future growth across the eastern suburbs.”
As stated by Federal Member for Hasluck Tania Lawrence:
“It’s great to see the Lloyd Street Bridge and road extension moving to the next stage to deliver a vital and welcome transport link into the heart of Midland.
“The bridge will reduce congestion and bottlenecks on surrounding roads and make it easier for residents, workers, and visitors to move around.
“Importantly, the project design has been shaped through collaboration with Traditional Owners, whose knowledge of the Helena River system has ensured improved connectivity does not come at the expense of protecting the Helena River and its banks.
“Their tireless advocacy has resulted in a design outcome that is better for road connectivity and better for our river health which means a better outcome for our whole community.”
