The longest combined road and rail bridge in Western Australia has been awarded a prestigious Engineering Heritage Marker for its vital role in connecting the Perth CBD to the southern suburbs.
The bridge now comprises two separate side-by-side structures, which overlap without touching, designed and built 25 years apart.
About 50 guests, including many engineers who worked on the design and construction of the two bridges at this site, attended the Engineering Heritage Recognition Program (EHRP) ceremony to celebrate the award at Deep Water Point in November 2024.
The ceremony recognised innovative design and construction of the 1982 and 2007 bridges. Both bridges were built as conventional post-tensioned concrete box structures and provide a unique example of the advances in bridge building technology over this 25-year period.
The ceremony began with a Welcome to Country from Whadjuk Noongar Elder Barry Winmar who commented on the importance of bridges in bringing communities together.
Jillian Formentin FIEAust CPEng EngExec NER, the 2025 Engineers Australia Professional Engineer of the Year, took many of the guests down memory lane with a description of how the bridges were designed and constructed.
Engineers at the ceremony who worked on the 1982 bridge included:
- Geoff Smith FIEAust CPEng(Ret)
- Ken Michael AC AM HonFIEAust EngExec
- Don Young HonFIEAust
- Tony Quinlan FIEAust CPEng(Ret)
- Gerry Hofmann FIEAust CPEng NER (who led this EHRP nomination).
Engineers from the 2007 bridge construction included designer Joe Wyche FIEAust CPEng and project manager Damian Ryan MIEAust.
The marker was accepted by John Erceg, Managing Director at Main Roads WA. He thanked the engineers whose work continues to provide this vital link to Perth’s southern suburbs and beyond.
Special guest Hon Alannah MacTiernan, former Minister for Planning and Infrastructure, provided guests with interesting insight on the history of the projects and the challenges that needed to be overcome to bring them to fruition. Ms MacTiernan held the infrastructure portfolio when the second bridge was developed as part of the Perth to Mandurah railway line project.
Included in the ceremony was the unveiling of a public interpretation panel (an information plaque) by John Erceg and Alannah MacTiernan.
Interested engineers can visit the copies of this panel in the pedestrian underpasses at each end of the bridge. More information on the Mt Henry Bridge, including a copy of the interpretation panel, is available from the Engineering Heritage Australia website.