With the Fremantle rail bridge still off limits to trains, commuters aren’t the only ones being affected - freight that would usually be trained to the port now has to go via road.
The bridge has been out of order since it was damaged on Monday morning when a ship crashed into it during bad weather.
According to Fremantle Ports spokeswoman Ainslie De Vos, between 16 and 17 per cent of all freight that goes in and out of Fremantle would usually do so via rail.
“While the bridge is closed, this cargo is being transported by road,” she said.
Public Transport Authority spokesman David Hynes said it might take until next week for the damage to the bridge to be fully assessed.
Barry Healy, spokesman for Fremantle Road to Rail which campaigns for freight to be taken off urban roads, said the amount of big trucks on Perth roads was already too high but the increase in recent days had been noticeable.
He said most trucks started in Kewdale, travelled on Roe Highway, then up Stock Road, onto Leach Highway (which becomes High Street) and then north along Stirling Highway and into Tiedemann Road towards the port.
“For the people who live on High Street it’s murder, they are living under the constant tyranny of this," Mr Healy said.
"To drive in and out of their driveways is taking their lives in the hands of those trucks everyday and that’s even before this increase."
He said people in the area were experiencing noise and vibrations while they tried to sleep, which he described as being a form of “torture”.
Mr Healy said people in the Fremantle area had already noticed increased congestion on the roads.
“They [truck drivers] use compression of engines to slow down, not their brakes,” Mr Healy said.
“I live in Holland Street and I cross the road there every day and it’s noticeable."
He is also concerned about the increase in diesel particulate pollution caused by fumes from car exhausts.
Mr Healy said the matter would be discussed at an upcoming planning meeting scheduled for Saturday.
Transport Minister Dean Nalder's office was contacted for comment on the affect of the bridge closure on freight transport.
He was unable to comment as he was in Parliament but a spokeswoman for the minister said it was a small portion of the port's freight that usually travelled by rail.
Mr Nalder told Parliament on Wednesday that the priority was to get repairs done so trains could operate across the bridge again.
"We are going to follow this through to ensure if there was a breakdown of any processes that we'll put those improvements into place," he said.
Meanwhile, the state opposition says Mr Nalder has conceded there were “inadequate” measures put in place to stop vessels hitting bridge.
Fremantle Labor MP Simone McGurk said the lack of protective measures to stop ships crashing into the rail bridge had put commuters’ lives at risk.
She said after grilling the transport minister in Parliament on Tuesday, he admitted the shoal water put in place to stop large ships coming close to the rail bridge during storm surges had failed.
Ms McGurk said Labor wanted a full investigation into the incident, including whether tug boats were on gale watch following the extreme weather warnings, whether tug boats were deployed after the first vessel broke loose from its moorings just after 10pm on Sunday and why loading and unloading of the AAL Fremantle continued right up to when the storm hit.
"You don't get a clearer message than this,” Ms McGurk said.
“Our bridge systems alongside the Fremantle Port are inadequate, and dangerous.
"A full investigation is required that examines exactly what occurred and provides a way forward to ensure safety is paramount.
Fremantle Ports Harbour Master Captain Allan Gray said "detailed procedures" were in place to ensure the safe berthing of vessels during adverse weather conditions.
In Sunday's case, Mr Gray said the Bureau of Meteorology had issued a "strong" wind warning (for winds between 26 and 33 knots) but not a gale watch (34 to 47 knots).
“Actions taken when such warnings are received depend on the level of the warning but include immediate advice to vessels to increase mooring lines, placement of anchors and placement of tugs on gale watch," he said.
“Whilst relevant actions were taken in response to the level of wind warning received, the suddenness and ferocity of the wind event that actually occurred was not expected.
“The winds throughout the day were consistently below 20 knots right up to the adverse weather event at which point the winds went to almost 60 knots.”
“The speed of the incident on Sunday night, when the ships pulled away and swung out from the wharf meant that a tug would not have been able to prevent the AAL Fremantle’s impact with the rail bridge.
“The two tugs in port at the time were partially manned and the tug masters were able to get to the port within a very short time.
“There was a quick response from all concerned to get the situation under control and bring the ships back to berths.”
-with Brendan Foster
