The Anzac Bridge gantry plan was scaled back after the outcry
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The RSL, which has been working with the government on the Anzac Bridge project since 2021, had raised concerns about previous plans for the portals, particularly the plan that had been proposed near the Digger sculpture.
However, RSL NSW President Ray James said he was certain the agency’s proposal for two portals would not affect views of or access to the statues that form part of the Anzac memorial.
Transport for NSW said the revised plans have balanced the bridge’s core function as a gateway for hundreds of thousands of people traveling between the CBD and western Sydney with its “iconic shape and form”.
“Bringing form and function is a challenge and even our most iconic structures, like the Sydney Harbor Bridge, have installed similar signs to help people navigate safely,” it said.
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“The original plans and construction of the Anzac Bridge in the early 1990s allowed signage to be installed at that location [between the pylons] when it was needed as the road network became more and more complex.”
Sydney architect Paul Berkemeier said the new plans are an improvement over the earlier portals proposed for the bridge, but much would rest on the details.
“It is not so bad. One of the main problems with the original scheme was…that it was inappropriate to have [the gantries] in the middle because it’s a very different structure than the Harbor Bridge,” said the former national president of the Australian Institute of Architects.
“The proposal to align them with the two A-frames is conceptually less problematic. It’s a step forward, but not necessarily the right solution yet.”
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The large bars between the pylons are equipped with changeable signs to warn drivers of dangers and changed road conditions such as accidents. They will feature a gray mesh design to blend in with the rest of the bridge.
Ann Williamson, President of the Australasian College of Road Safety, said two gantries strategically placed on the Anzac Bridge would probably be sufficient for motorists.
“You’re putting up a bridge because you want to convey information to drivers,” she said. “What you provide must be enough to make you miss one [driving over the bridge]there is another.”
Later that year, gantries will also be installed on the Western Distributor Motorway between the Anzac and Sydney Harbor bridges. Transport for NSW declined to say how many are now likely to be built on this section of the motorway as planning was still ongoing.
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