Work begins on Anglesea boardwalk

WORK has begun on a $257,000 raised boardwalk along the Surf Coast Walk to protect the sensitive Anglesea heathland and enhance the visitor experience.

Member for Western Victoria Gayle Tierney visited Demons Bluff on Friday to turn the first sod on works to build the 180-metre boardwalk.

EcoProjects Australia will construct the boardwalk along part of the Surf Coast Walk, a 44-kilometre trail that extends from Fairhaven to Point Impossible at Torquay.

Construction comes after part of the coastal track was re-routed, due to concerns about the stability of nearby cliffs.

The new route is further back from the cliffs, protects the surrounding environment and allows nature-admirers to be closer to the heathland.

To minimise construction impacts on sensitive heathland areas, most of the boardwalk will be fabricated off site, before being carried in and installed by hand.

A grid mesh decking, positioned about a metre above ground, will allow light and rain to reach the heathland underneath.

The Great Ocean Road Coast Committee (GORCC) is working with the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning and local conservation group ANGAIR to ensure minimal disturbance to the heathlands during construction.

The former route of the track has been revegetated with the assistance of ANGAIR volunteers.

Ms Tierney thanked ANGAIR for their work not just on the heath but also for their 50 years of volunteering across the Anglesea district.

“If it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t have been able to have as many plants saved and looked after, and now they’ll be replanted once we have this boardwalk in place.”

The project is being funded with $110,000 from the state government and $147,000 from GORCC.