27-kilometre-long track opens

Hundreds of cyclists and other community members have converged on Belmont for the official ribbon-cutting for the completion of the Fernleigh Awabakal Shared Track.

The four-year construction project reached its much-awaited conclusion yesterday with the official opening of the 3.5km track, and an accompanying community celebration.

Funded jointly by the Australian Government, NSW Government and Lake Macquarie City Council, the Fernleigh Awabakal Shared Track (FAST) fills in a missing gap of shared pathway between Blacksmiths and the existing Fernleigh Track, creating a 27km continuous active transport route from Murrays Beach to Adamstown.

Lake Macquarie Mayor Kay Fraser said the $20 million track’s centrepiece was a 400m stretch of elevated boardwalk over wetlands next to Belmont Lagoon – the focal point of the Aboriginal creation story known as ‘When the Moon Cried’, and one of the region’s best spots for bird-watching.

Up to 120 bird species are believed to frequent the area.

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