Narrows Bridge 3.93

The Narrows Bridge is a freeway crossing of the Swan River in Perth, Western Australia.Made up of two road bridges and a railway bridge located over a section of water known as The Narrows, located between Mill Point and Point Lewis, it connects the Mitchell and Kwinana Freeways, linking the city's northern and southern suburbs. The original road bridge was opened in 1959 and was the largest precast prestressed concrete bridge in the world. Construction of the northern interchange for this bridge necessitated the reclamation of a large amount of land from the river.The bridge formed part of the Kwinana Freeway which originally ran for only 2.4mi. Over the following decades, the freeway system was expanded to the north and south, greatly increasing the volume of traffic using the bridge. As a result, in 2001, a duplicate traffic bridge was opened to the west of the original bridge, and in 2005, the railway bridge was constructed in the gap between the two traffic bridges. Passenger trains first traversed the Narrows in 2007 with the opening of the Mandurah railway line.First road bridge: 1959The close distance between Mill Point and Point Lewis at the foot of Mount Eliza meant the site was suggested as a suitable location for a bridge as early as 1849. A bridge was proposed for the site in 1899, but its expected cost of £13,000 was deemed too high. Preliminary planning for a bridge at the site finally began in 1947, but was suspended so that a replacement, The Causeway, could be built at Heirisson Island, at the city's eastern end. The new Causeway bridges were opened in 1952, and by 1954 traffic using them to enter the city had doubled, renewing calls for a bridge at The Narrows.