Small Delay For Rail Trail

Construction of the final ‘mising link’ of the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail between Toogoolawah and Moore has been set back several weeks to late July to allow the contractor’s work to be audited (Photo: BVRTUA)

May 21, 2018

The completion of a missing section of the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail (BVRT) between Toogoolawah and Moore has been delayed.

The 27km section was originally scheduled for completion on June 30, but now is not expected to open until late mid-to-late July.

In January 2016, the State Government announced it would spend $1.8 million to complete the last undeveloped section of the BVRT to create a continuous 164km rail trail between Wulkuraka and Yarraman, the longest in Australia.

Aftr it was later discovered construction would cost significantly more than the State Government’s initial estimate, the Federal Government announced in August 2017 it would also contribute $1.45 million to the project through the Building Better Regions Fund.

Though short, the stretch was found to pose several significant engineering challenges which contributed to the cost blow-out.

The first contracts for work on the final section were issued in November 2017 with an expected completion date of June 30 this year.

On Friday, however, the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail Users Association (BVRTUA) said they had been advised the completion date has now been pushed back by several weeks.

BVRTUA president Paul Heymans said the group had extensive discussions with Somerset Regional Council about the project last week.

The group was told while construction by contractors was still expected to be completed on schedule, their work would need to be followed up with a two to three-week auditing process to ensure contract compliance.

The BRVTUA had been planning to hold a BVRT 100km cycling event from Esk to Yarraman on June 30 to celebrate the trail’s completion, and had considered deferring it when told of the delay.

But on Monday has now decided to press on with the event as planned, although cyclists will not be using the new section and will tackle the Toogoolawah-Moore section along public roads.

Tickets for the BVRT 100 can be booked online through Eventbrite