For 18 months motorists heading into the city from West Perth have been denied access to the right lane on the Malcolm Street bridge for what has seemed like an abandoned project to upgrade its road barriers.
Now WAtoday can reveal why the project will likely take as long as the Boorloo bridge to complete and why workers have been scarce at the site since the start of the year.
The delayed Malcolm Street Bridge barrier project in West Perth.Credit: Hamish Hastie
Main Roads WA says work had to stop on the barriers for a redesign of the $1.3 million project due to the position of underground services, with the project not to be completed until October.
Work began on the Malcolm Street Bridge barrier replacement in February 2024, with the left-hand lane on the eastbound route connecting West Perth to the CBD closed off with temporary concrete barriers for that same period.
However, work stalled on the project at the start of 2025 because of the positioning of service lines under the floor, leaving the barrier incomplete.
The worksite, complete with portaloo, has been left so long that debris and rubbish have collected in the closed-off lane.
The new completion estimate means the project will have taken the same amount of time the $187 million Boorloo Bridge project took.
Construction started on the two spans of that major public work, collectively about 440 metres’ worth, in March 2023 and the bridge opened to the public in December 2024.
A Main Roads spokeswoman said the delay and scope changes to the barriers had not impacted the project budget.
“New traffic barriers are being installed by Main Roads to upgrade the bridge to the current Australian standards,” she said.
“They are being installed at the following locations: north side of the bridge, going east towards the city and south side of the bridge, going west away from the city.
“Works commenced early 2024 and the majority have been completed.
“Final works are on hold while a new design is being investigated to accommodate a conflict with existing underground services.
“As a safety measure, one eastbound lane on Malcolm Street Bridge has remained closed for this duration.
“Main Roads has confirmed with its contractor that all works will be completed by the end of October 2025.”
Once work is complete on the eastbound lane, Main Roads will close the westbound lane to replace the barrier on that side of the bridge.
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