The final link in Wollongong’s Blue Mile will be open to the public by Friday night, with contractors working to put the finishing touches on the path from Belmore Basin to North Wollongong beach.
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Known as the Tramway – as it was previously part of the Mount Pleasant Colliery Tramway which transported coal from above the university to Wollongong Harbour – the path has been closed off since March 2017.
In place of the formerly narrow walkway which caused a bottleneck for cyclists and pedestrians, the council has constructed wide concrete walk and cycleways and installed seating.
A new sea wall has been built to cover the historic one, which the council said was “becoming increasingly unstable and unsafe due to the harsh environment”.
However, the works will stop just before the narrow cutting through the rocks between the Gentlemen’s Baths and North Beach, retained to mark its place as part of the old coal trolleyway.
The project – worth about $8 million – is jointly funded by the council and federal government, which contributed $900,000 through in regional funding late last year.
It has been completed about three months ahead of schedule, with the council originally estimating the area would remain closed off until September.
On Saturday, the council will hold a public celebration between 10am and 1pm to mark the opening, with a sausage sizzle, ice cream, face painting and street entertainment.
The fences will be down sometime late on Friday so enthusiastic Saturday morning walkers will get the chance to walk it first.
Kate McIlwain
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
