I received some interesting news through Super-Gran over the weekend. One of the guys in the "Recycled Runners" group has been corresponding with Eastlink regarding what they're doing to trails during construction work. Specifically, what's happening with the three crossings over the Dandenong Creek trail (Melways 81 C4, 63 E3, 94 H4 ) and the crossing of the Knox City Trail (Melways 72 D3 ).
Their website is a bit light-on for info, but here's the latest via email:
Ringwood Region
Between Canterbury and Boronia Roads - The shared user path along the south side of the Dandenong Creek will remain open throughout the construction period. The shared-user path has been fenced on either side to ensure safety of pedestrians and cyclists during construction. There may be times where machinery needs to be moved from one side of the path to the other. In this instance, traffic controllers will be used to temporarily stop pedestrian and cyclist traffic while the machinery moves. These delays will be temporary and should be of a duration no longer than five minutes.
Knox Region
Cathies Lane / Blind Creek area - A section of the shared user path crossing Cathies Lane in the vicinity of Blind Creek is due to be closed from Mon 16 Jan. A new diversion has been created which will run parallel to Cathies Lane on the west side and link up with the existing path at High St Rd, with signage indicating the route of the temporary diversion.
Between Wellington Road and Police Road - is the subject of ongoing discussion; the solution is still unclear, however it appears likely that we will be required to create an alternative access track which will follow the existing route as closely as possible.
Frankston Region
Between Greens Road and Perry Bangholme Road - At this stage we are not yet sure how we will manage the pedestrian/cyclists movements of this section where EastLink crosses creek and the shared user path directly, however a weekend closure may be a possibility to complete the works safely. The area is in a difficult location so we are assessing a number of options for the ped path as both councils (Frankston and Dandenong) are very reluctant to close the path for any time periods.
In the immediate future we will have a temporary closure of the path on 18 Jan 06 for a couple of hours to accommodate for demolition of the Allan Bridge near Greens Road. This closure should only be for a couple of hours however things can change.
The upshot is that it looks like path users will generally be able to get through and that's good for commuters and regular riders in that area.