THE most striking piece of the Fernleigh Track's "missing link" has taken shape with a bridge built over the Cold Tea Creek.
The 34-metre bridge at the southern end of Belmont Lagoon was installed earlier this month and replaced an outdated footbridge.
It is part of the 3.6-kilometre southern extension of the Fernleigh Track to link the popular Adamstown to Belmont cycling and pedestrian route to the southern section between Hilda Street and Awabakal Avenue in Belmont South, which was completed in 2022.
The extension also includes 400m of elevated boardwalk skirting Belmont Lagoon, a viewing platform and two separate offshoots for birdwatching.
Eventually it will create a continuous 27km pathway from Adamstown to Murray's Beach.
The Cold Tea Creek bridge was designed in-house by the Lake Macquarie City Council's City Projects team and a 250-tonne crane was used in its installation.
The eye-catching teardrop shape was designed to reflect the Awabakal Dreamtime story of Belmont Lagoon's creation. Life-size bronze art installations of Indigenous symbols, created by local artists Julie Squires and Shellie Smith, will also feature on the bridge.
Some local residents have been critical of the bridge's construction and its impact on the local environment.
NSW Recreational Fishing Alliance safety officer Malcolm Poole told the Newcastle Herald in November that the construction of the temporary rock platform across Cold Tea Creek, to prepare for the bridge, threatened marine life in the Belmont Lagoon.
The bridge is expected to open in May. It is jointly funded by the council, the Federal Government and the NSW Government.
