Bridges on shared pathways provide grade separation, improving safety and travel times for both users of the path and users of the road. They often also provide a connection to open up a route for path users that might not otherwise be viable; at least, not without considerable inconvenience (as commuters on the Gardiners Creek Trail have become accustomed to this year).
But not all bridges are created equal—or indeed with equal diligence and sense of urgency.
Compare and contast:
Gardiners Creek Trail bridge
Monash Freeway, East Malvern
removed in January as part of the M1 Upgrade Project
By my count, that’s about seven months elapsed, and there it is complete, taking foot and cycle traffic, and ready to receive an enormous, ugly advertising billboard:
And then there’s…
Eastlink Trail bridge
Burwood Highway, Wantirna South
EastLink opened on 29 June 2008 as did the EastLink Trail
Yet completion of the bridge over Burwood Highway, previously delayed from March this year until June, is now postponed until at least September because “additional paint work on the bridge would be required”
By my count, that’s about fourteen months—after construction of EastLink supposedly finished—and still counting.
One is bound to wonder what differences exist in contracts on the two projects? In the meantime, the unfinished bridge remains an eyesore and users of the EastLink Trail remain inconvenienced.
No, I can’t work out what’s going on here either.
Honestly, I think patronage. The East Malvern one serves the railway station and is a major link on an inbound bike path to the city.
The Eastlink bridge is kinda in the middle of nowhere.
Posted by eccles | 26 August 2009, 6:24 pm