I mentioned back in May that the Yarra Trail between St Kev's boathouse and MacRobertson's bridge had been ploughed up in preparation for a total reconstruction. Well, the job is nearly done. Yesterday I dodged around a dozen workers and a bobcat as they laid some asphalt at the MacRobertson's bridge turn-off and this morning I rolled off the bridge near St Kev's straight onto steaming hot bitumen.
It looks like there will be at least one more layer to be laid but work is progressing pretty well by the look of things. So it may be only a matter of days before the signs and barricades are torn down and we can shoot along smooth pristine tarmac. And I reckon the wait will have been worth it.
Update
Judging by my homeward leg this evening, this is going to be a huge improvement. With no signs or bunting to stop me, I trundled along the new path (as plenty of others appear to have done before me).
Wow, what a difference! Years of experience on this trail had me automatically swerving to avoid some of the worst bumps – that are no longer there. Even without its final layer in place, the new improved path is a billiard table smooth compared to what was there previously.
Comparison - Stonnington
By way of comparison, Stonnington Council recently resurfaced a hundred yards or so of the Gardiners Creek trail in Glen Iris Park – in two days. I'm not really one to complain and I always welcome trail maintenance, but this job just looked like dumping some money before the end of the financial year. The surface was a bit cracked but didn't seem to be significantly worse than any other stretch along that part of the trail but because the job was a hastily done it's got that slightly bumpy, just-not-quite smooth finish (much like we used to have in front of the St Kev's boatshed). Not what you'd call high quality work…
Comparison - Boroondara
Further comparisons will also be interesting as Boroondara Council has just started relaying about 500m of the Gardiners Creek trail in H. A. Smith Reserve (from the Hawthorn Velodrome to Glenferrie Rd). The detour signs and bunting went up this week but there's no estimated completion date on the advisory boards (if anyone knows more details about the project, please let me know).
Anyway, I suspect Boroondara Council is approaching the resurfacing with a quality of finish more like Yarra Council than Stonnington. Time will tell…