General News
5 November, 2021
Goldfield bridge replaced by causeway crossing
A timber bridge washed away earlier this year on the popular Goldfields walking trail near Babinda has been replaced by a permanent causeway crossing.
THE TRAIL, which goes over a distance of 19 kilometres between the Goldsborough Valley day-use and camping area and the Boulders Scenic Reserve near Babinda, also serves as a starting track to local waterfalls and other swimming and hiking spots.
The timber footbridge, about 100 metres in from the Boulders car park, was critically damaged following a severe rain event at the end of August. Cairns Regional Council, which looks after the Trail, said after close inspection it was decided that the timber bridge would not be replaced by another bridge.
Instead, the creek over which the damaged bridge spanned, and which runs into Babinda Creek, has been re-shaped along its banks to regulate the flow of water and greatly reduce the chance of blockage by debris during a major rain event.
“An assessment of the location and the damage to the structure, as well as potential for future blockages, determined that shaping of the creek banks to create a standard causeway type creek crossing was the most appropriate solution,” a Council spokesperson said.
The result for walkers is just a slightly more difficult crossing up and down the creek banks and across the new causeway.
