The name of the new Fremantle Traffic Bridge has been unveiled as the port city readies itself for the official opening.
More than 10,000 people are expected to attend the bridge’s opening, where it will be named Walyalup Bridge.
The traditional Whadjuk Noongar name for Fremantle, Walyalup is a place of social, spiritual, cultural and historic significance.
It originates from the Noongar word for woylie, “walyo”, the small kangaroo-like mammal once found in the scrub and low trees in the area.
The new name fits with Fremantle’s adoption of the name in other local landmarks, including the Walyalup Aboriginal Cultural Centre, Walyalup Fremantle Arts Centre and Walyalup Civic Centre.
It is also the name adopted by the Fremantle Dockers during the AFL’s Indigenous fixture, the Sir Doug Nicholls Round.
Walyalup Bridge will be Australia’s first to combine cantilevers and cable stay supports, featuring two lanes in each direction as well as wide shared paths for pedestrians and cyclists.
It will also have wider and higher navigational spans to improve access and safety for ferries, boats, kayaks and other river users going under the bridge.
A spokesperson the Department of Transport and Major Infrastructure said heritage and culture have been heavily embedded within its architecture and design, incorporating public art, feature lighting and signage.
The original timber piles from the former bridge have been retained in a nod to its history.
Opening months ahead of schedule and costing $596 million, the bridge’s official opening is set to be a community celebration with free food, family friendly entertainment and roaming performers.
People will be able to walk across the bridge before it opens to traffic later in the evening.
Transport Minister Rita Saffioti said the new landmark will be “part of Fremantle’s identity for generations to come”.
“This river crossing has a rich history and so many people have their own stories of its past, whether it be its Noongar heritage and culture, connections to the Fremantle community, or what it represents as a feat of engineering and critical transport link to the Port city,” Ms Saffioti said.
“Its name, Walyalup Bridge, will now become part of that continuing story, connecting the past, present and future of this important place.”