Rail trail extension officially open
HUNDREDS of people gathered at the Koonwarra Recreation Reserve on Friday to witness the official opening of the Great Southern Rail Trail’s latest $1.8 million instalment.
The new section of trail links Koonwarra to Meeniyan with a shaded bush track and three bridges equipped to take walkers, cyclists and horses.
The entire Great Southern Rail Trail now spans 69km from Leongatha to Welshpool without interruptions.
South Gippsland Shire Council mayor Cr Bob Newton was pleased to see the new section of trail open, offering the shire a new community asset both as a recreational track and tourist attraction.
“It was established the rail trail will be of an economic benefit to South Gippsland, increasing revenue by $4.8 million a year in tourism and flow on revenue for local businesses,” he said.
“Thank you to the community for its ongoing support of the rail trail.”
Eastern Victoria Region MLC Harriet Shing was invited to take part in the opening ceremony and noted the many benefits the new trail will offer, especially to people in nearby Koonwarra and Meeniyan towns.
“The rail trail offers an enormous benefit to the community both in terms of health, social activity and economic benefits,” Ms Shing said.
The $1.8 million project has come to fruition with 2.6 kilometres of trail, linked by three bridges. Local contractors worked to replace one bridge and refurbish the other two.
“I hope to see many people out there keeping active and doing South Gippsland proud,” Ms Shing said.
The middle bridge, a refurbished trestle bridge, is a particular highlight, combining old architecture with sound construction to create a stunning platform that can be seen from the South Gippsland Highway.
Funding was obtained by the Great Southern Rail Trail Committee when the State Government gave $1.3 million to the project in October 2014.
South Gippsland Shire Council funded the remaining $550,000.
Great Southern Rail Trail president Neville Pulham said it was a relief to see the new section complete.
“I would like to acknowledge the great number of people from the shire who have done an enormous amount of work to make this possible. I would also like to thank the Great Southern Rail Trail Committee for having done a marvellous job,” he said.
“This trail and its new bridges are going to last forever and ever, and it is a great day for our community to celebrate its completion.”
Mr Pulham joined Cr Newton and Ms Shing in the ribbon cutting ceremony that declared the first of three new bridges open.
Fine weather permitted cyclists and hikers a chance to test out the new section between Koonwarra and Minns Road on Friday afternoon.
The trail remained busy over the weekend with people from across South Gippsland coming to see the latest tourist attraction.
Trail open: from left, South Gippsland Shire Council mayor Cr Bob Newton and Eastern Victoria Region MLC Harriet Shing, with Great Southern Rail Trail president Neville Pulham cut the ribbon to mark the opening of the new trail section between Koonwarra and Meeniyan on Friday.
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Posted by Tayla Kershaw on Mar 8 2016. Filed under Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
