Launceston’s popular Cataract Walk is expected to reopen to the public before March, the city’s mayor has confirmed.
The pathway was closed late last year following the collapse of a privately-owned retaining wall above the walkway.
Initially, the council anticipated a quick fix, however after removing over 1,500 tonnes of bluestone and wall material from the area, several weeks of work still remain.
“This is an incredibly technical and complex project involving the removal of a failed and now dangerous
old bluestone retaining wall from high above the Cataract Walk,” Mayor Matthew Garwood said.
“We’ve completed approximately 70% of the excavation works and so far we haven’t experienced
anything unexpected.”
Stone and earth are being removed from the site using a custom-fabricated rail trolley system, similar to those operating in the mining sector due to the difficult terrain.
During the ongoing work, the closure is also being used an opportunity to carry out additional remediation efforts on a 60-metre section of the track at the walkway’s western end.
“Once the excavation works are complete, we’ll be planting native plants to help stabilise the slope, installing a safety fence, removing the temporary catch nets that were installed immediately after the failure and re-opening the Gorge steps,” Garwood said.
“We still have a fair bit of work ahead of us, but we expect to re-open the Cataract Walk to the public
before March.”
“This has been a pretty tough situation … We continue to thank the public for their patience while we carry out the works.”
