The Windan Bridge is a six-lane

road bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

East Perth, Western Australia East Perth is an inner suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located next to the Perth central business district. Claise Brook and Claisebrook Cove are within the suburb. Formerly characterised by industrial land uses and urban blight, the rede ...

which crosses the Swan River and forms part of the

Graham Farmer Freeway Graham Farmer Freeway is a inner-city freeway in Perth, Western Australia. It links Rivervale and Burswood with West Perth and Leederville, providing an east-west bypass of Perth's central business district. The freeway, in conjunction w ...

. Opened in 2000, it sits next to the Goongoongup railway bridge which was built in 1995. A joint venture between Transfield and Thiess Contractors was selected to construct the bridge from a short-list of three parties. Construction began in 1998. The incrementally-launched bridge is long with nine spans and comprises two

prestressed concrete Prestressed concrete is a form of concrete used in construction. It is substantially "prestressed" ( compressed) during production, in a manner that strengthens it against tensile forces which will exist when in service. Post-tensioned concreted i ...

box girders on two rows of

piers Piers may refer to: * Pier, a raised structure over a body of water * Pier (architecture), an architectural support * Piers (name), a given name and surname (including lists of people with the name) * Piers baronets, two titles, in the baronetages ...

. A

dual-use In politics, diplomacy and export control, dual-use items refers to goods, software and technology that can be used for both civilian and military applications.

pedestrian/cycle pathway is located beneath the main deck. The bridge is named after Windan, a wife of

Yellagonga Yellagonga (d. 1843) was a leader of the Whadjuk Noongar on the north side of the Swan River. Colonists saw Yellagonga as the owner of this area. However, land rights were also traced through women of the group. Yellagonga could hunt on wetlands ...

(sometimes spelt Yallgunga), chief of the

Mooro The Mooro are a Nyungar Aboriginal clan, a subgroup of the Whadjuk. Their territory stretches from the Swan River in Perth north to the Moore River beyond the northern limits of metropolitan Perth and east to Ellen Brook. Evidence of Aborigi ...

tribe. Her body was buried around the area, according to her wish. The name was chosen in consultation with

Noongar The Noongar (, also spelt Noongah, Nyungar , Nyoongar, Nyoongah, Nyungah, Nyugah, and Yunga ) are Aboriginal Australian peoples who live in the south-west corner of Western Australia, from Geraldton on the west coast to Esperance on the so ...

elders as part of the Graham Farmer Freeway project. A naming ceremony was held on 9 April 2000 where a plaque was unveiled and a traditional Aboriginal

smoking ceremony Smoking ceremony is an ancient and contemporary custom among some Aboriginal Australians that involves smouldering native plants to produce smoke. This herbal smoke is believed to have both spiritual and physical cleansing properties, as well as ...

performed. The opening of the Graham Farmer Freeway and Windan Bridge was celebrated with a community open day on 22 April 2000 where the public could walk or cycle through the Graham Farmer tunnel and across the bridge. The freeway and bridge was open to traffic the following day. The bridge is part of a popular exercise trail known as the Windan Bridge Loop, which goes along the banks of the Swan River and across the Windan Bridge and

The Causeway The Causeway is an arterial traffic crossing in Perth, Western Australia, linking the inner-city suburbs of East Perth and Victoria Park. It is carried over the Swan River at the eastern end of Perth Water by two bridges on either side of He ...

References

External links

* {{Road infrastructure in Perth, state=collapsed Bridges completed in 2000 Road bridges in Perth, Western Australia Burswood, Western Australia East Perth, Western Australia Box girder bridges Swan River (Western Australia)