Arabic version: جسر واليالوب يستعد للافتتاح في فريمانتل

According to ABC News, Jan Middleton will be among the first people to walk across Fremantle’s new Walyalup Bridge when it opens on Sunday. The 92-year-old has a long and dramatic connection to the former Fremantle Traffic Bridge, where she and two colleagues survived a car crash 70 years ago.

In 1956, Middleton, then 22, was giving co-worker Barbara Shimmon a driving lesson during their lunch break. Their colleague Thelma Davies was in the back seat as they travelled towards Fremantle from Mosman Park. Middleton said rain was falling and the vehicle hit wet oil on the road before it spun, struck a cement pillar and flipped backwards off the bridge, falling 10 metres and landing on its roof.

All three women escaped without serious injury. Middleton said they took cushions to work for the following week because their bones were bruised. She recalled believing she was going to die and said the experience ended her efforts to teach friends to drive.

The 86-year-old wooden bridge closed in February for construction of its replacement, a project expected to take 12 months. The new bridge is opening four months ahead of schedule, although its cost has risen from the $230 million announced in 2021 to $596 million. The joint state and federal government project prompted transport changes during the closure, including extra train and bus services, free parking bays for SmartRider users and CCTV traffic monitoring.

The 500-metre Walyalup Bridge retains the same number of traffic lanes while adding wider pedestrian paths and greater clearance for boats. It is Australia’s first extradosed bridge, combining cantilevers and cable-stay supports. It is the third Fremantle Traffic Bridge: the first was built by convicts in the mid-1800s, while the second opened in 1939.