Following a protracted hold up, Parks Victoria and its contractors will start work to remove the Gipps Street steps this Monday.
The Main Yarra Trail will be closed between Gipps Street and Clarke Street during the works.
Detours for bikes and pedestrians using the Yarra Trail will be in place until mid-2024.
The steps, cursed by riders for decades, are being replaced by an elevated 150 metre-long walkway and bicycle path with a gentle gradient that curls down to meet the original Yarra Trail.
Parks Victoria describes the location and geography as “challenging”.
There will be temporary changes to accessing the Main Yarra Trail, the presence of construction equipment and vehicles in Gipps Street and Clarke Street, and increased noise at times.
Work hours will be 7am to 6pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 3pm some Saturdays.
The detour to rejoin the trail runs along Gipps, Nicholson, Abbotsford, Clarke and St Helliers streets.
The Collins Bridge over the Yarra at Gipps Street will remain open.
The project is scheduled to be completed around the middle of next year.
The project will cost around $15 million and is a joint project of Parks Victoria and the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning.
Much of the vegetation on the embankment at this part of the Yarra is invasive weeds and will largely be removed. The embankment will regenerated by new native plantings.
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