By Gabriella Vukman
After delays due to flooding and landslides, the restoration and upgrade of the Cement Creek Road Bridge is complete and East Warburton’s Redwood Forest has reopened open for vehicle access.
Closed since 2022 when initial works on the bridge commenced, the Redwood Forest’s immense popularity raises parking concerns for Yarra Ranges Council.
O’Shannassy Ward Councillor Jim Child said that now road access to the forest was available again, it was important that visitors to the area exhibited appropriate behaviours, particularly around parking.
“Vehicle access has been closed for quite some time so we’re expecting increased visitation to the area given the Redwoods Forest is one of the most visited locations in the Yarra Ranges,” he said.
“Like always, we ask that if you are visiting to please come with a backup plan in mind to see other areas of the Upper Yarra, if the Redwoods is too busy,”
“What we don’t want to see is unsafe and illegal parking behaviour in the area, as it creates a major safety issue to other road users, as well as the potential damage it can cause to vegetation on roadsides.”
The brand new pedestrian-and-vehicle-friendly bridge and sealing of Cement Creek Road was delayed due to a landslide on the Warburton Highway that prevented the transport of heavy machinery needed for the upgrade.
Funded by The Federal Roads to Recovery Program, The Federal Bridge Renewal Program and the Victorian Government, the $1.3m project was elicited to improve the bridge’s load capacity and attend to the forest’s increased popularity.
Next on the list is the improvement of the forest’s facilities, carried out by Parks Victoria.
Parks Victoria District Manager Brendan Sullivan said they’re expecting to appoint a contractor and start on-the-ground work early next year.
“At the moment we’re working through cultural heritage and planning approvals,” he said.
“The redwoods will be busy this summer and we’d encourage anyone heading there to go to our website to help plan your visit and get the best experience.”
Parks Victoria’s proposed visitor upgrades include upgrading the carpark from 80 to 125 spaces including six accessible car parks and two bus parking spaces, installing a public toilet with two 9000ml rainwater tanks beside, a weather shelter, barbecues, picnic tables and seating, a solar-powered visitor safety gate at the entrance and interpretive and wayfinding signage.
In April 2023, the Heritage Council Victoria determined that the Cement Creek Plantation in Warburton, including the Redwood Forest site, is of state heritage significance, which brings the process of obtaining heritage permits under their jurisdiction. Prior to that, the site was already included in Yarra Ranges Council’s heritage overlay.
Permits from Yarra Ranges Council and Heritage Victoria are required before the works can be carried out, with Parks Victoria awaiting them in order to finalise the designs and decide upon a contractor to deliver them. It is anticipated that works will start in early 2024, subject to on-ground conditions and the assessments and approvals process.
