Tarrington residents will soon have reason to celebrate as Southern Grampians Shire Council commence installation works on the extended Tarrington walking track this week.
The extended section will run 1.4 kilometres, beginning at intersection of Hamilton-Highway and Walkenhorst Road. The walking track will move east along Walkenhorst Road to Tarrington-Strathkellar Road, then move south to the Hamilton Highway.
The project was initiated by the Tarrington community during last year’s Council budget submission process. The project was approved for completion in the 19/20 financial year by Council, through a formal resolution upon adoption of the budget.
Providing additional continuous footpaths throughout the township improves access and safety for pedestrians, as well as providing better opportunities for exercise such as walking prams and riding bikes.
Southern Grampians Shire Council Mayor Cr Chris Sharples said this project was identified as a priority for Tarrington.
“Residents from Tarrington came to us with this project last year and told us it was a very important one for their community. We are pleased to be getting on with the job and providing improved accessibility for the community”, Cr Sharples said.
Preliminary works, including tree-pruning, stump-removal and marking-out of the track have took place over the fortnight in preparation for the start of the track installation work this week.
The new section of the track will be constructed with a compacted crushed rock base and covered in a bluestone dust, creating a similar surface to that of the Lake Hamilton Walking track. The extension will link up to the existing Tarrington walking track.
Works are expected to be completed within three weeks, subject to weather conditions. Users of the already established walking track that runs from Hamilton will not be impacted by these works.
