Main Roads WA Reports on the First Week after the Old Bridge Closure

Fremantle Shipping News inquired of Main Roads WA how things were travelling on the roads, especially over the Stirling Bridge this week after the closure of the Old Traffic Bridge last Sunday. Here’s Main Roads WA’s report as of today.

Following the closure of the Fremantle Traffic Bridge, we are seeing about 20-25 per cent more traffic travelling over the existing Stirling Bridge in both directions during both peak times, with approximately 9000 vehicles over two hours.

Based on our data so far, the number of vehicles travelling across the river in both directions is down about 25 per cent compared to the number of vehicles travelling over both bridges before the closure.

This is a significant positive achievement made possible through major network modifications and focused operations, as well as a huge effort from the community to reduce congestion.

It’s been great to see people rethinking their peak hour travel patterns, including using trains and buses, flexible work hours and cycling to and from work, which has helped mitigate the increase in traffic expected from the closure of the bridge.

We have also received good feedback from nearby schools on how they are helping reduce congestion with some schools opening earlier, schools commuters taking bikes on trains between Fremantle and North Fremantle and some schools providing additional shuttle buses to collect students from train stations.

We again thank the community for their patience and understanding, it’s important everyone continues to play their part to keep the road network moving.

By Main Roads WA, 6 February 2026