East Street cliff maintenance over Easter holidays

The City of Fremantle will take advantage of the Easter school holidays to carry out vital maintenance works on the cliff face along East Street.

The footpath immediately below the cliffs was closed to the public in November last year after large chunks of limestone fell from above.

The City engaged a geotechnical engineer to provide advice on how to make the cliffs safe, and will undertake remedial works between 6-14 April.

The City’s Infrastructure Engineering Manager David Janssens said the works are being done during the Easter holidays to minimise the disruption to nearby schools.

“For the duration of the works the southbound lane on East Street will be closed and we’ll have detours in place for both cars and pedestrians,” Mr Janssens said.

“Students from both John Curtin College of the Arts and East Fremantle Primary School use East Street to get to school, so by doing these works over the holidays it’ll help to reduce traffic congestion in the area.

“The works will involve removing the vegetation out of the cliff face, and then removing any loose materials.

“Removing the vegetation will help to prevent future root damage, and also provide a clearer view of potential problem areas so we can do a more comprehensive assessment.

“Once we’ve done these initial works and are satisfied the cliffs are safe we can reopen the footpath.

“We’ll also have our geotechnical expert back to have another look and recommend long term solutions for the entire cliff face.”

During the works East Street will be reduced to one lane, with the northbound lane open to traffic and the southbound lane closed.

Pedestrians will be diverted around the area via Chalmers Street.