One of Melbourne’s original bike trails – the Federation Trail – is open again following a complete resurfacing of the route through Brooklyn.
The West Gate Tunnel Project has upgraded the 2.1km section from Millers Road through to near the bridge over the Kororoit Creek.
The trail was closed for seven weeks during the works and riders were detoured along a new section of the Kororoit Creek Trail, also delivered by the West Gate Tunnel Project.
The work involved removing the existing asphalt surface, fitting a new membrane over the base, and the resurfacing with new asphalt.
The new surface will be welcomed by riders and walkers, as will the extensive plantings that are underway to create a linear parkway along the trail.
The 23km trail is built along the historic outfall sewer to Werribee, which is subject to the Greening the Pipeline landscaping initiative.
When the trail was originally constructed 18 years ago it was surfaced with asphalt, but because of clay soils which shrunk and expanded with the seasons, the surface cracked horribly over the years and wheel-swallowing cracks were a regular occurrence.
Significant sections have been replaced with concrete over the years as VicRoads calculated it would be cheaper in the long run than regular crack-filling.
It was expected that this section would be similarly upgraded, but contractors determined that a properly constructed asphalt trail would last for decades and have guaranteed it to do so. We shall see.
There is some interesting drone footage of the route in this video.
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With the northern end of the Lower Kororoit Creek Trail completed, and the section of trail along the West Gate freeway from Williamstown Road open, options for recreational and commuting trips have become available.
And in recent weeks, West Gate Tunnel Project crews have installed a new 86-metre elevated walking and cycling bridge over the Williamstown Road city-bound exit ramp.
Soon, in 2025, riders will be able to connect across the Williamstown Rail line as well, and down to the Bay Trail at Hyde Street, meaning that you can start your ride in the city and take the trail all the way through to Werribee.
Riders will note that the newly resurfaced section of trail crosses a local road and the entrance to the Brooklyn tip, locations where policy dictates the trail crossing should have priority.
Bicycle Network understands that intersection design was not part of the resurfacing project but will be addressed.
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