By Callum Ludwig
The Victorian State Government has commissioned the designing and rebuilding of the McMahons Creek Pedestrian Bridge to improve safety and accessibility in the township.
Local member for Eildon Cindy McLeish has been campaigning for the restoration for five years and said it was a good outcome on an issue that residents desperately wanted.
“We kept up the pressure all the time. The community was happy to keep fighting it because they really wanted it.” she said.
Constructed in 1910, the McMahons Creek old road bridge was converted to a footbridge in 1988 following the new vehicle bridge built nearby on Woods Point Road.
In 2017, the footbridge was decommissioned after a structural assessment found it had deteriorated over time and was no longer safe. Pedestrians, including school children and elderly residents, are currently using the road bridge, with heavy truck traffic and speeds of 80km per hour, to cross McMahons Creek.
“Any of the community people who wanted to go from one part of the community to the other were forced to walk on a high-speed main road,” she said.
“There were people who spoke to us who had walking sticks or frames or weren’t so mobile, for who it was even more dangerous.”
In 2017 VicRoads organised a bridge inspection to report on options to either replace or upgrade the McMahon’s Creek pedestrian bridge.
The inspection stated that consideration needed to be given to either replacing the structure of the bridge at a cost of $316,750, provide a new walkway adjacent to the existing road bridge at $694,250 or prop up of the original steel piles at $200,500.
The replacement of the structure of the bridge was deemed the best option, followed by the propping of steel piles. The latter option was eventually chosen, only for the bridge to have to be closed four months later.
Member for Northern Victoria Jaclyn Symes said reopening the footbridge will enable pedestrians to cross separate from motorists, improving safety for all, and will also improve accessibility for locals visiting the Reefton Hotel.
“The safety of all road users on local and arterial roads is vital to connecting communities and improving access to local facilities,” she said.
Yarra Ranges Shire, led by Mayor Jim Child who has supported the bridge’s replacement, will lead the design, consultation, and delivery of this vital project over the next 12 months.
The Pedestrian Crossing upgrades are part of the Government’s $63 million School and Community Safety program announced in the 2020/21 State Budget.
