This was published 9 months ago
It took a year to fix a 45-metre bridge. How will the Armadale train line be done in 18 months?
Questions have been raised as to whether extensive renovations to the Armadale train line will be finished on time and budget after Main Roads announced it would take longer than anticipated to repair a small bridge in Perth’s eastern suburbs.
For months, motorists and pedestrians in Helena Valley have been hit with round-the-clock delays to cross the bridge, which has been reduced to one lane while workers replace the timber structure with steel and concrete.
Only one lane of traffic has been allowed through on the busy thoroughfare since work started on repairing the bridge in March 2023.Credit: Main Roads
Work started in March 2023 on the $2.4 million refurbishment of the bridge along Scott Street, which is 44 metres long and 10 metres wide and one metre above the Helena River.
The bridge, which is a major artery for neighbouring suburbs, was due to reopen by the end of October.
But Main Roads said the project now will not be finished until January 2024, blaming a range of factors including steel shortages and inclement weather.
The works have blocked in residents either side of the bridge and, when both lanes are closed, motorists are forced to take a convoluted 10-kilometre detour through neighbouring suburbs Koongamia and Bellevue to reach the other side.
Helena Valley resident Zac Kelly said he expected the bridge works to be delayed even further given it had taken crews seven months to finish just one side.
“Main Roads has wasted countless amounts of taxpayer money on fixing this bridge,” he said.
“We’re lucky to see the contractors do three to four hours of work a day and that’s if they turn up.
“Every day locals are facing disruptions and delays that are adding to our commute times.
“If you head the way of Scott Street around 3pm you may as well add an extra 20 or 30 minutes on to your trip as the street gets blocked from all the parents from the school not wanting to miss the light and blocking the road.”
Resident Kath, who asked for her last name not to be used, said there were many days when there were no workers onsite other than traffic wardens.
“The bridge is a fire egress, and we are coming into a dry summer with one lane over that bridge which is concerning,” she said.
A Main Roads spokeswoman said heavy rains had caused damage to the existing bridge abutments during the first stage of construction.
“This exposed some timber sheeting, so a decision was made to remove this timber sheeting and build new retaining walls to stabilise the abutments, adding on extra construction time but also reducing further maintenance in the future,” she said.
“The project was also impacted earlier this year by the unexpected shutdown of a steel supplier after construction had begun.
“Contractors were able to source remaining materials from an alternate supplier.”
The spokeswoman added there had also been delays due to the Water Corporation needing to redesign its infrastructure, which were awaiting approval.
Opposition transport spokesman Tjorn Sibma said there were multiple project delays across the broader transport portfolio, including the bridge in Helena Valley as well as never-ending freeway widening works.
“The chances of the Armadale line shutdown lasting only 18 months are nearly zero,” he said.
“Not one single Metronet project had been delivered on time or on budget, the entire project is synonymous with blowouts.
“The Minister has no plan B for this inevitable delay, other than asking Perth commuters to continue to grin and bear it.”
In August, when talking to this masthead, Transport Minister Rita Saffioti stopped short of guaranteeing the project would be completed by May 2025, instead saying she was confident the record-breaking shutdown from November 20 would not extend beyond that date.
Extensive reconstructive surgery on the line involves the removal of 13 level crossings, construction of seven new stations and the addition of 5.5 kilometres of Perth’s first sky rail through Victoria Park and Cannington. It will also see the line extended to Byford.
A Metronet spokeswoman said they were confident the project would be completed in that timeframe.
She said unlike the repairs to the bridge in Helena Valley there had been no impact to timeframes for Metronet projects due to a shortage of steel.
“Given the significant amount of work to prepare for the upgrade of the Armadale Line including the production of L beams and other rail infrastructure, Metronet is confident in the timeframes.”
Perth’s $1.86 billion Airport Link was due to be completed in late 2020 but after a tunnel explosion, sinkhole, design faults and delays that plagued the flagship Metronet project the line did not open until October 2022.
Bayswater residents have also faced lengthy delays due to Metronet with ongoing construction works in their suburb.
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