Walmer Street Bridge construction

We've replaced the northern land bridge section of the Walmer Street Bridge.

About Walmer Street Bridge

The Walmer Street Bridge crosses the Yarra River and connects Kew to Richmond and Abbotsford. It plays an important role for pedestrians and the regional bicycle network.

The bridge has 3 sections:

The northern land bridge is a City of Boroondara asset. This section of the Walmer Street Bridge was in poor condition and needed to be replaced.
The southern land bridge is a City of Yarra asset. Salta Properties delivered works on the southern land bridge in 2023. You can read more on the Live at Riverbank website.
The river bridge is a heritage-listed Victorian Government asset.

Project status

In October 2023, we completed our main works to the northern land bridge section.

In December 2023, Salta Properties completed their works on the southern land bridge section.
Walmer Street Bridge reopened to the public in full on 21 December 2023.

We are progressing landscaping works on the northern land bridge side. Our landscaping works are expected to be completed by February 2024. These works will not affect the reopening of the bridge.

Aim of our works

The northern land bridge section of Walmer Street Bridge was in poor condition and needed to be replaced.

With funding support from the Australian Government, our works have resulted in:

a safer shared path for pedestrians and cyclists through an increase in the bridge’s width (from 1.7 m to 3.3 m) and handrail lighting
the bridge meeting the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 through the decrease in the bridge’s steepness
structural improvements to the bridge and to the staircase down to the riverbank
an improvement to the bridge’s overall look and convenience.

Project timeline

Stage	Description
2008	We started advocating to the Victorian Government for the northern land bridge section of Walmer Street Bridge to be replaced. We included this action in our 2008 Boroondara Bicycle Strategy. This action also supported the Victorian Government's Principal Bicycle Network and Strategic Cycling Corridors.
2013	In 2013, we received a report that said the bridge was in poor condition. It identified that the bridge had: defects in its structure beams that were failing timber railing posts that were splitting a deck that was sagging. The community also shared their concerns about the width, surface and steepness of the northern land bridge section. The report and feedback from the community confirmed the need for the structure to be replaced. Temporary scaffolding was installed at the northern land bridge section.
2015	Scaffolding was replaced with steel supports.
2016	We started work on a permanent design solution to replace the northern land bridge section.
2018	With support from the City of Yarra and the Walmer Street Bridge Working Group, we continued advocating to the Victorian Government to replace the whole bridge. The Victorian Government completed feasibility studies to replace the full length of Walmer Street Bridge. Unfortunately, the Victorian Government has still not committed to go ahead with the redevelopment.
December 2020	The Heritage Council decided that Walmer Street Bridge was of ‘State-level cultural heritage significance’ and should be added to the Victorian Heritage Register. After this announcement, we needed to change our designs and submit it to Heritage Victoria as part of a permit application.
December 2021	Heritage Victoria approved a conditional permit for construction.
April 2022	Councillors endorsed the contract for construction of the northern land bridge section at a Council Meeting on 26 April 2022.
August 2022	The full length of Walmer Street Bridge was closed and we started construction on the northern land bridge section.
May 2023	Salta Properties started construction on the southern land bridge section.
October 2023	We completed our main works to the northern land bridge section, following some delays to construction due to: extensive wet weather experienced in late 2022 issues with sourcing materials the need to adjust the construction management plan to protect culturally sensitive areas, in line with our Cultural Heritage Plan.
December 2023	Salta Properties completed their works on the southern land bridge section. The full length of Walmer Street Bridge reopened to the public on 21 December 2023.
February 2024	Our landscaping works are expected to be completed.

More information

If you have any questions about our project, please contact our Traffic and Transport team on (03) 9278 4444 or at [email protected].