THE Sandy Creek bridge will again connect both sides of Lake Hume when the missing link in the High Country Rail Trail is completed next year.
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The trail has the potential to become one of the region’s major tourism drawcards when the bridge is rebuilt after a $1.35 million funding injection from the Victorian government.
Construction of viewing platforms at either end of the 600-metre bridge and car parking will make the area a mecca for cyclists and walkers and provide a major economic boost to nearby Tallangatta.
The Wodonga-Cudgewa line was closed in 1981 after previously being used to carry materials for the construction of Lake Hume and Snowy Mountains Scheme with the last passenger service from Wodonga to Tallangatta running on September 30, 1961.
Almost 50 years later the bridge rebuilding will provide off-road cycling access from Wodonga to Tallangatta after the trail was started nearly a decade ago.
“For years our volunteers have toiled tirelessly to create a unique community-owned asset and that faith has been vindicated,” Tallangatta Rail Trail Advisory Group president David Pinder said.
“The level of excitement this is going to generate with the volunteers is going to be huge.
“The community has really had to struggle to build this and the funding is going to be such a fillip to those volunteers.”
The original bridge beams are sitting idle near the Wodonga Saleyards, but won’t be used in the reconstruction as 31 concrete support beams will sit atop the 12-metre pylons.
Bonegilla Rail Trail Advisory Group president Mike Hansen said the bridge was the last, but most important piece in the rail trail.
“The bridge has always been seen as the linchpin to it all and without the bridge you went nowhere or started nowhere,” he said.
“You can see the dam wall and on a clear day the scenery is absolutely spectacular.
“I used to regularly get phone calls from groups in Sydney and Melbourne who had seen maps of the rail trail marked.
“But you would have to say ‘sorry, but it’s not what you think’.”
With the bridge built, cyclists won’t have to use a dangerous section of Murray Valley Highway to rejoin the trail.
Towong Council has called for tenders on the bridge which could be finished by Christmas next year.
“It’s going to be a big opportunity for people to really enjoy the rail trail to its full potential,” mayor Peter Joyce said.
“The opportunities for Tallangatta will be fantastic with the hospitality industry to really cash in on the spin-offs.”
