Exciting times ahead

That’s simply because of what lies ahead with the development of the centre of the city.

These columns have been used many times, including quite recently, to talk about the growth taking place in town as a result of the railway line being moved out of the CBD.

For many that alone was a project that appeared destined never to happen.

But of course it wasn’t just a matter of, somehow, attracting federal and state government support to get funds promised and the commitment to follow that through.

The scope of the project was enormous in terms of identifying a new route bypassing Wodonga that could actually work, given the line was going to have to traverse the flood plain and fit in with new sections of the Hume Freeway. There were also the huge engineering and construction challenges of the whole project.

But it was done.

It has been several years now since busy traffic in High Street came to a standstill because the boom gates were down, usually several times a day.

Those headaches have disappeared. And before we know it we have on the Border the already exciting culinary precinct based on the old station, plus the adjacent newly developed Junction Place.

It is working. People are flocking to enjoy the area, something that will only improve as we make the most of the longer, sometimes lazier days of summer.

This has certainly provided a real glimpse of what can happen in the years ahead, something that will surely be added to with the Mann development and the rebuilt Woolworths.

And now we have the news that the Junction Place master plan is about to be submitted to Wodonga Council.

The multi-million dollar project has already been dubbed Station 73 – again, a link to the area’s history given the station building opened in 1873.

At long last the city’s residents, and people from the wider Border region, will get a true insight into what could be, given the way the plan will look into how a mix of retail and residential developments could actually work.

It will look at parks for play, at a possible – long-awaited – cinema centre and the potential for more hotel accommodation.

We look forward to Wodonga taking another exciting step forward.