By Oliver Winn
The Yarra Ranges Council has awarded Brunton Engineering and Construction Pty Ltd the $1.2 million contract to build 17 bridges along the Warburton Mountain Bike Destination (WMBD) trail.
The announcement was made during the council meeting on 11 March, which saw councillors voting unanimously to pass the motion awarding the contract.
“This is a significant part of the Warburton Mountain Bike Destination project,” Yarra Ranges Council Mayor Jim Child said.
“It includes the project management, the geotechnical investigations, transported materials and equipment into remote areas, and this is going to be a significant task.”
The council put an advertisement in The Age newspaper calling for tenders on Saturday 23 November 2024, with five tenders responding.
The successful tender was chosen on its price, capability, commitment to quality and sustainability, community benefit, local content and timeframes/methodology.
Cr Len Cox said there’s many reasons why one tender gets preference over another, with a major factor being the price offered.
“It’s worked out very well for council and for our residents,” Cr Cox said.
“Once these bridges are completed, it will be very much an important part of the total system of mountain bike destinations, and we look forward in the future to that being totally finished.”
Around 20km out of 100km of trail have been completed in the stage 1B-1D section, where the 17 bridges will be located.
The mountain bike trails are being constructed by a specialist trail builder on a contract separate from the bridge’s contract.
The locations for the bridges were agreed upon by Melbourne Water and the overall WMBD project has gone through the Environment Effect Statement (EES), a rigorous environmental approval process.
“Going forward, we can watch the progress of this particular project knowing that it has those strong credentials and especially protecting our environment,” Cr Child said.
The first stages of the track are expected to open some time in the first half of 2025.
