The Wollondilly Walking Trail is moving ahead in leaps and bounds and it will soon reach a point where it has to move across the river and run alongside the former Crookwell Railway Line.
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As the State Government owns the line, Goulburn Mulwaree Councillors resolved at the October 17 council meeting to write to Member for Goulburn Pru Goward to sponsor an Act of Parliament to close the railway line in two parts.
These include (a) part of the rail line from Kenmore Bridge (Tarlo Street) to the Eastgrove Wetlands and (b) all the remaining parts of the line that will allow the development of the Goulburn to Crookwell Rail Trail.
The track is proving very popular, with an almost constant stream of people along it most weekends.
Stage One of the track is almost complete. This began in 2015 and includes a 2m wide shared pedestrian and cycle path from the Marsden Weir car park to the Victoria St Bridge.
Work will start on a pedestrian and cycle crossing of the Wollondilly River at Gibson Street this week.
“The contract has been awarded for the work to start this week and it will be completed before Christmas, weather permitting,” Goulburn Mulwaree operations director Matt O’Rourke said.
Stage Two works are also underway with a concrete path in place from Victoria Street Bridge to Kenmore Street.
“The section from Kenmore Street to Kenmore Bridge has more difficult terrain to traverse, with a steep rock slope to navigate,” Mr O’Rourke said.
“To overcome this terrain an elevated walkway is proposed from Kenmore Street to the northern end of Joshua Street.
“From there, the shared path will traverse the perimeter of Tully Park Golf Club, along the Wollondilly River to the Kenmore Bridge.”
He said construction of this part of the trail is proposed for the 2018/19 financial year.
Stage Three of the trail takes it from the Kenmore Bridge to the Eastgrove Wetlands. This part involves securing land along the former Crookwell Railway Line.
The trail then moves in front of the jail and down Cemetery St towards the river along Fitzroy Flats and then around to the wetlands and up Lower Sterne St
From here it links up with the current walking track that runs alongside the Goulburn Golf Club Park Rd and then onto Carr Confoy Park
Stage Four of the project runs from Carr Confoy Oval along Forbes St and the Lansdowne Bridge, which will have a pedestrian crossing on that new bridge. The it moves along Bungonia Rd past the Old Brewery and back into town along Sloane St.
Goulburn Mulwaree Mayor Bob Kirk said Stage Three is: “the part that gets interesting.”
“I respect the issues associated with this part of the project, especially directing traffic around this site as it passes near the jail,” Cr Kirk said.
“This part of it is also a shared pathway for the proposed Goulburn to Crookwell Rail Trail project - so it fits in with plans for that possible future use as well – so everyone benefits.”
He said this part of the trail would bring more walkers and cyclists into Riversdale as well.
At the October 17 council meeting, Cr Leah Ferrara said the walking trail is: “a very good thing for Goulburn.”
“A lot of people are using it and most people have been complimentary about it to me. The extension of it will be good for the community,” she said.