| Federation Trail near Werribee | |
| Federation Trail | |
| Length | Approx. 23 km from Brooklyn to Werribee |
| Difficulty | Easy |
| Hills | None |
| Hazards | Magpies during breeding season. Snakes in summer. |
| Path | Shared use, bitumen and gravel |
| Connecting Transport | |
| Train | Werribee line (Werribee and Hoppers Crossing stations) |
The Federation Trail is a shared use path for cyclists and pedestrians, which mainly follows the old "Outfall Sewer" through the western suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.[1][2][3]
For safety reasons cyclists are not allowed to use the Princes Highway between Melbourne and the intersection of the highway and Geelong Road. West of this point cyclists are allowed on the highway. The Federation Trail is the preferred alternate route in the no go area.
It was officially opened on 22 October 2006.
In 2010 work started on extending the trail from Millers Road to Williamstown Rd. Completion of stage 1 of the VicRoads Truck Action Plan[4] should see the trail finally connected from Williamstown Road to the Bay Trail - west side.
Since March 2011, work on the extension has stopped completely. So far 1,300 metres of concrete path has been built, at a conservatively estimated cost of $520,000[5], which now lies idle. The new path is fenced off to potential users, who could easily access the path from the corner of Watson Street and Trumans Street as a temporary measure.
Much of the trail follows the historic reservation of the "Main Outfall Sewer" which was built in the 1890s. At that time the sewer was the largest civil engineering project ever undertaken in Victoria. The associated pumping station can be found in the Scienceworks Museum complex.
Snakes may be seen in the Skeleton Creek and Werribee River areas during hot weather. Walkers are advised to stay on the path to enjoy the scenery.
RAAF Williams (Laverton base), Lawrie Emmins Reserve, Skeleton Creek, Werribee Mercy Hospital, Victoria University (Werribee campus), Werribee Park, Werribee Open Range Zoo, Werribee River.
The trail meets the Werribee River Trail in the west, at Werribee and provides access to the Princes Highway at this point. Near Hoppers Crossing it intersects with the upper section of the Skeleton Creek Trail. It terminates at Millers Road in the east in Brooklyn near Altona North. 3.7 km west of Millers Road, it intersects the Western Ring Road Trail.
The Hobsons Bay Coastal Trail can be accessed from Millers Road but the road sections here are extremely busy and not recommended for the inexperienced. Forget Francis Street, go south under the West Gate Freeway next to Millers Road then into Marigold Street, Kyle Street/Mills Street, Mason Street, cross the train track under Melbourne Road then North Road to the Hobsons Bay Coastal Trail.
West end at . East end at .
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