THEY have been divided since steam ruled the railways, but next week Perth and Northbridge will be reunited for the first time in more than a century after the opening of the latest development in the City Link project.

From Monday, pedestrians will be able to use what is being called the King Street extension, which provides direct passage between Roe Street in Northbridge and Wellington Street in the city.

From early next year it will be open to traffic.

The city and the suburb were torn asunder by the new railway line in the 1880s, during WA’s first boom, the gold rush. The divide was social as well as physical.

Northbridge was very much perceived to be the wrong side of the tracks, a rapidly expanding melting pot of settlers and chancers drawn by the siren’s call of gold.

Planning Minister Rita Saffioti today heralded next week’s reunification as “significant” and said the final touches were being carried out on the $5.4 million milestone piece of the project before it opened to vehicle traffic early next year.

Camera Icon A bird’s eye view of the new City Link, which will open on Monday. Credit: Nearmap

An attached public space is also due to open early next year.

Manatj Park, which means black cockatoo in the Whadjuk language, is dominated by a public art installation representing the meeting of traditional owners and European settlers in Perth.

Ms Saffioti said the new thoroughfare would ease traffic congestion and the new park would be accessible to all of Perth.

“We want to make a great family atmosphere,” she said. “It’s connected really well to bus ports and the new train station.”

A new bar and office space are also ready to go — the first of almost $4 billion of private investment expected for the Perth City Link precinct.

Ten years, three State governments and almost $1.4 billion after the City Link began, the public parts of the project are almost done.

The last of the big public works and the heart of the new precinct, Yagan Square, is expected to open about March.

But the seemingly never-ending roadworks on Wellington and Roe streets still do not have a completion date.

“I think that’s the ongoing joke through Perth, Wellington Street,” Ms Saffioti said. “The work never stops.”