By JESSE GRAHAM
THE Warburton Trail will be extended by 10 kilometres in the next two years, completing the track’s link into Melbourne and the bay.
On Tuesday 10 June, Minister for Roads Terry Mulder announced $7.4 million to fund construction of a 10.3-kilometre trail that will connect the Warburton Rail Trail with Carrum.
The new trail link will begin in Bayswater North and finish at the beginning of the Warburton Rail Trail in Lilydale and the total track will form the 90 kilometre Carrum-Warburton Cycle Link.
Mr Mulder said currently cyclists travelling in from the city had to finish their trail-riding and hit the roads, before getting on the Warburton Trail at Lilydale station.
Once completed, the trail will allow riders to begin in Carrum and stay on the track through Bayswater North, Croydon and Mooroolbark, before travelling towards Warburton.
Secretary of the Friends of the Lilydale to Warburton Rail Trail Incorporated, Phil Wallens, said the group was feeling very positive about the link being constructed.
“It’s a very good thing,” he said.
“It’s a desirable thing for a lot of people, who can hop on their bikes in the suburbs in Melbourne and ride all the way up here.”
Mr Wallens said that the finished trail would have a wide range of benefits for people closer to the city and in the Yarra Valley, and increased visitation to the area.
“Not only will the construction of this new shared-path provide a safer way for cyclists to travel, but it will give locals and visitors the chance to access many of the wonderful sights this region has to offer,” Mr Mulder said.
The $7.4 million funding is the result of a Coalition election promise in 2010, and the 10.3 kilometre trail is expected to be completed by mid-2016.
