A "confident" vision to transform Yarrawonga's foreshore is aiming to change the minds of the state governments to build the new bridge along the green route across Lake Mulwala.
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The concept plans which are being described as the "jewel in Yarrawonga's crown" and "Victoria's best waterfront destination" aim to show what could happen if the bridge is built alongside the existing weir bridge further out from the main street.
Moira Shire chief executive Mark Henderson said by "removing the traffic and replacing the bitumen with parks and paths could really open up the town's main street to the foreshore".
Regional Roads Victoria, the lead agency in the project, along with Transport NSW still prefer the grey route option which will see the new Yarrawonga-Mulwala bridge built where the current bridge is.
Mr Henderson said these plans will capture four key ideas that aim to link the current "disjointed" green spaces, extend Yarrawonga to the lake with a new visitor centre and cafe, connect the two towns and celebrate the existing bridge's history.
"It is a visual way of demonstrating what could happen at this location if governments would refocus their attention and their discussions about the green route," Mr Henderson said.
"This will be a big long term project but before we can even move into any sort of design stage we need a new bridge.
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"This foreshore development could be a $20 million spend in today's dollar value and that is achievable with a bit of effort and a bit of foresight."
The plans were launched from the visitor's centre on Wednesday and while the council admitted the main hurdle was changing the minds of governments, Mr Henderson said he hoped the community would show their support.
"We want to show the community how Belmore Street can connect to the lake and be transformed into a pedestrian-friendly, community and tourism precinct to help ensure Yarrawonga's continued success as a premier tourism destination in Victoria," he said.
"We would love some feedback, these are purely concepts, we thought we had to start with something.
"People love their foreshore but it is a very linear space, it doesn't connect to the main street so if you go great tourism destinations around Australia and the world you always find connectivity between the main street and the icon, and the icon here is the lake.
"The end goal is to secure the commitment of both Victorian and NSW governments to build a new bridge on the green route in the next several years we know new bridges take time but we are striving for that commitment."
