Kyabram-Deakin ward Cr Colleen Gates described the Waranga Rail Trail project as a puzzle piece in Rushworth’s jigsaw at a recent Campaspe Shire Council meeting that saw the project’s $3.1 million budget skyrocket a further $404,000.
The 11km heritage listed trail, extending from Rushworth to the shire’s boundary, has been under council consideration since 2022.
However, Rochester ward councillor Paul Jarman and Waranga ward councillor Adrian Weston have been advocating for this project even before it reached the council agenda.
The project was 12th in line in the Tuesday, August 20, council meeting’s mammoth agenda which saw the ordinary meeting run for two hours and eight minutes.
Although council meetings of this duration are not unusual, there was a palpable sense of finality at this penultimate meeting, as councillors approach the end of their current term before the upcoming local government elections.
With caretaker mode coming into play following the next council meeting on September 17, many councillors were dusting off their hands and tying up loose ends on projects that meant to the most to them.
One such plan was the Waranga Rail Trail project, which Cr Weston and Cr Jarman said was a development they have been attempting to follow through on since they came into council 12 years ago.
The recommendation was to approve the allocation of $404,000 from the Strategic Asset Reserve to enable a contract to be made with a tenderer and continue construction on the project.
The allocated funds would go towards forming a 10-kilometre gravel trail along the decommissioned Rushworth-Murchison railway line, constructing two road crossings and three access track crossings, repairs to six Vic Track bridges, and the construction of four new culverts, wing walls and table drains along the trail.
The allocation of $404,000 would add to the existing council contribution of $455,000 and two government grants worth $2.7 million, creating a total project budget of $3.57 million.
“This is a capital works project that’s been in the pipeline for (the) best part of two decades,” Cr Weston said.
“This in one sense is the final administrative component of this project … then we just need to build it.”
The project’s design phase began in 2022, with construction at the Rushworth end commencing in early 2024.
However, progress was temporarily halted in July when soft spots were discovered in the proposed path alignment.
The motion to add more cash to the budget was not without scepticism, with both Kyabram-Deakin ward Crs Daniel Mackrell and Gates cautioning that it is a project that the Rushworth community needs to “get behind”.
While speaking in favour of the motion, Cr Mackrell expressed reservations about the Waranga Trail project, stating that he was “not a huge fan” due to concerns about its economic benefits.
“The reason being is that I haven’t seen the economic … things that will come out of it,” he said.
“But because it’s going to get done ... what I can see is this will be a turning point for Rushworth if they get behind it.”
Cr Gates, on the other hand, likened Rushworth to a jigsaw puzzle.
“I think that this is kind of like a jigsaw puzzle: if you looked at any individual thing in it on its own you can’t really see the bigger picture,” she said.
“I may not necessarily have the right creative mind to envisage what the local community can do with the rail trail, but I think it’s going to be amazing because we do have very coordinated, creative and motivated bunch of people in and around that town who will be able to provide that connectivity to do something that maybe we haven’t imagined as yet.”
Moved by Cr Weston and seconded by Cr Jarman, all seven councillors who were present (Cr Rob Amos and Cr Chrissy Weller were apologies for the meeting) voted for the project, and it was ultimately carried.
The Waranga Rail Trail project is currently listed on Campaspe Shire Council’s website as scheduled for completion in March next year.