The new bike bridge over the Moonee Ponds Creek in West Melbourne is carrying riders for the first time, creating connections that will transform riding in the inner west of Melbourne.
Constructed as part of the West Gate Tunnel, the rust-coloured structure will soon link to a similar-but-longer bridge over the rail line corridor to North Melbourne Station.
Another new bridge over the creek at Footscray Road opened last month.
These structures are part of a multi-pronged approach by the WGT project to create better and safer connections for riders.
The main change from the bad old days is that riders no longer have to ride on Dynon Road to get over the creek, and soon, the rail corridor.
That will be transformative for the regular commuters and recreational riders through the precinct, most particularly when the creek floods during rain events and coincident high tides.
More directly, the opening of this bridge over the creek signals the end of the pontoon bridges that were installed earlier in the WGT project in 2020 to switch riders from one side of the creek to the other and back.
The upstream pontoon has been gone for a while and now the remaining one is being decommissioned.
The bridge is close to the Dynon Road vehicle bridge and connects to the shared path along Dynon Road.
It will enable riders along Dynon Road to go either up or down the Moonee Ponds Creek Trail or, next year, over to the North Melbourne Station or Arden Station.
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