The old wooden bridge on the Darebin Creek Trail at Dundas and Banksia Streets will soon be history as work starts soon on a new much wider structure that will vastly improve the creek crossing.
During the project – a joint venture of Darebin and Banyule municipalities – the trail will be closed at Dundas Street for about four months. There will be no access across the bridge.
Detours on local streets have been devised. See map here.
Available crossing points are Bell Street, Darebin Road (Livingstone Street), Murray Road and Wood Street.
The existing bridge is part of the Darebin Creek Trail which is an important transport route for both casual and commuter cyclists and also a popular path for walkers and joggers.
The new bridge will have a wider deck of 4m, more durable materials, and barriers and handrails complying with current standards. It will also be safer and more user-friendly than the existing bridge.
The project involves the construction of new foundations, demolition of the existing bridge, construction of new approaches, and installation of the new steel structure, handrails and mini mesh decking.
The alignment of the new bridge will match that of the existing bridge to avoid a Melbourne Water Sewer and minimise the impact on native vegetation.
Although cute, the existing bridge is approximately 30 years old, is in poor condition and a structural audit deemed it needed replacement.
Both Councils have allocated funding to replace the bridge as part of their Capital Works Programs for 2017/18.