Spanning the Swan

Mott MacDonald has been appointed by the York Rizzani De Eccher joint venture to verify the design of the structural, waterway and drainage elements of a new pedestrian bridge over the Swan River in Perth, Australia.

The AU$54.1M steel footbridge will connect East Perth with the Perth Stadium at Burswood, providing year round access across the river for residents and visitors. The new bridge will comprise three bowstring arches, the largest standing 65m tall, and will be 400m long, with a central span of 165m. It is expected that 700 tonnes of steel and 1.5km of cables will be used during its construction.

More than 14,000 people are expected to cross the bridge on capacity event days when the new 60,000-seat stadium opens in 2018. The footbridge will be operational in early 2017.