The construction of the 18.5 km section between Foster and Welshpool will begin on Friday February 8.
A Sod Turning Celebration event at 11:45 AM featuring the Hon Peter Ryan MP, Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional and Rural Development, and various councillors from the South Gippsland Shire Council, will take place at the beginning of the new section in Foster near the corner of Charity Lane and Lower Franklin Rd.
The project cost of approximately $2 million is being funded by the Victorian government and the South Gippsland Shire Council, and will include a gravel surface and 12 bridges.
This extension will see the South Gippsland Rail Trail run continuously from Meeniyan to Welshpool, a total of nearly 50 km.
In other news regarding the Great Southern Rail trail, South Gippsland Shire Council has applied for a grant of $40,000 from Regional Development Victoria. At this stage the grant is yet to be approved.
The grant is intended to fund an investigation into the structural integrity of the three wooden bridges in the Black Spur section of the Great Southern Rail Trail, just outside the town of Koonwarra, 8 km south of Leongatha.
Ultimately this will determine whether or not the Great Southern Rail Trail could be connected between Koonwarra and Meeniyan, over the bridges. At present the rail trail from Leongatha ends just outside of Koonwarra and a 2.6km diversion onto the busy and narrow South Gippsland Highway is necessary to reach the rail trail again, about half way to Meeniyan. This is a significant deterrent to many rail trail users.
While it would be wonderful to see the long timber bridges back in use again, Rail Trails Australia would like to see the study also consider new bridge options to go beside the timber bridges that may potentially have cheaper initial costs and probably significantly less long term maintenance issues. A similar approach was taken for the Pumphouse Creek bridge near Meeniyan.
And all things positive, if the bridges near Koonwarra can be connected to the existing trail, the South Gippsland Rail Trail will run from Leongatha to Welshpool with a continuous span of 66 km.
Rail Trails Australia congratulates the South Gippsland Shire Council on the very significant commitment it is making to getting the Great Southern Rail Trail fully completed.
Further updates are expected in the coming months.
For more details about the South Gippsland Rail Trail see our South Gippsland Rail Trail Description.
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Register for news updatesThe Château Tanunda Barossa Marathon is to be held on Sunday 26 May 24, starting and finishing in Tanunda. The event at...
We are calling on all rail trail supporters to express their support for the development of a new rail trail in NSW to a...
Some exciting news from Western Australia! Earlier this week, the WA government committed $17.5 million to completing th...
Castlemaine Maryborough Rail Trail Inc (CMRT) recently received very welcome news and financial support to allow them th...
The e-bike is a great way to get more people and families using the rail trails in Australia! Bicycle Network believes e...
This week, we received the tragic news that the Mullumbimby railway station on the old Northern Rivers Railway was destr...
If you would like to be able to wheel your bike onto new NSW country trains to get to rail trails please contact the NSW...
The Feasibility Study for the Boorowa to Galong Rail Trail (BGRT) in south west NSW was completed in November 2022. The ...
The iconic Northern Rivers Rail Trail keeps rolling on! On the occasion of the opening of the Casino to Bentley stag...
As part of its ongoing advocacy work and community engagement, the Castlemaine Maryborough Rail Trail Inc. Group recentl...
The Adelaide to Port Dock railway line was constructed in 1856 to service the passenger and freight movement between the...
Early bird registrations are open until April 12 for Lake High – ‘Walk for Autism’ on April 26, 2024 for teams of ...
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