The Causeway

Road bridge in Perth, Western Australia
the river crossing in Perth

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 Heirisson Island. The current Causeway is the third structure to have been built across the river at this point. Originally the site of mudflats which restricted river navigation, the Colony Government constructed a causeway and bridge across the site. The project was first planned in 1834 and opened in 1843. When floods in 1862 almost destroyed it, the structure was rebuilt using convict labour, and raised to better withstand future floods. Governor John Hampton officially opened the new Causeway on 12 November 1867. Over the following decades, the three bridges making up this second Causeway were widened several times, and they were eventually replaced in 1952. The current Causeway bridges were designed by Godfrey, and built between 1947 and 1952. They were the first in Western Australia to use steel composite construction. Large roundabouts were also constructed at each end of the structure, to improve the flow of traffic. The opening of the Graham Farmer Freeway in 2000 reduced the traffic volume on the Causeway, allowing the two central lanes to be turned into bus lanes. By the early 2000s, the concrete structures had suffered significant damage. Cracks were repaired using carbon fibre reinforcement and localised patching, extending the bridge's life by decades. The Causeway bridges have been recognised for their heritage value by their entry on the Western Australian Register of Heritage Places.

Plans to build a new bridge at The Narrows downstream from the Causeway in the aftermath of World War II were put on hold while a new Causeway could be constructed. Vehicle traffic using the Causeway had almost doubled between 1930 and 1939. and designed by E. W. C. Godfrey. Also, the cement that was used on the bridges had to be procured from seven different sources, which led to variable durability of different parts of the bridges. However, the proposed overhead wires were deemed too ugly for the new bridge, and between £30,000 and £40,000 could be saved by using buses instead. The eastern roundabout opened in 1952, while the western one did not open until December 1954. Guides on the usage of the roundabouts were published in newspapers. By 1954, traffic entering the city by the Causeway had doubled, leading to renewed calls for a new bridge further west at The Narrows. That bridge was eventually built as the Narrows Bridge, It also reduced traffic levels on the Causeway from 107,000 cars per day to 70,000 within six months. The western roundabout, the state's worst black spot since 1989,

The variable quality of the cement which had been used in the construction of the Causeway bridges meant that, by the early 2000s, they had suffered significant damage. A repair contract was awarded to Kulin Group in 2004. Localised patching of cracks in the piers was undertaken. At the ends of the piers, the cracking was more substantial and had to be tied back with carbon fibre reinforcement. Repairs were then treated with a moisture resistant coating, and were expected to lengthen the life of the bridges by decades.

The Causeway begins in East Perth, at the intersection of Riverside Drive, Adelaide Terrace, and Hay Street. This intersection is a traffic light controlled raindrop roundabout. The road reaches the Swan River's northern foreshore after , and crosses to Heirisson Island via the The road passes over the second, south east of the second bridge. The interchange links The Causeway with four other roads: Canning Highway to the south west, Great Eastern Highway to the north east, and both Shepperton Road and Albany Highway to the south east. There is no access to Albany Highway from The Causeway, as Albany Highway is a one way road leading into the interchange.