Community
2 April, 2026
Work begins on industrial estate path
WORK has started this week on Warrnambool City Council’s largest new footpath project in at least 20 years.
Approximately 1.7 kilometres of new footpaths will link Merrivale Drive with McMeekin Road, Albert Street and Braithwaite Street in the Warrnambool Industrial Estate.
Warrnambool mayor Cr Ben Blain said it would provide a big boost for safety.
“The industrial estate is a busy place, and there are a lot of people who work in the precinct and travel on foot,” he said.
“This will make it a lot safer for everyone walking in the area, and for people who were perhaps put off from walking by the lack of footpaths; it’s encouraging them to consider walking as an option.”
Cr Blain said the project was identified in the Principal Pedestrian Network Plan (PPN).
“The PPN is all about looking at our footpath network and identifying the gaps that make it harder for people to walk to get to where they need to go,” he said.
“Over 300 people had their say on the PPN, and it’s helped guide a lot of our footpath projects in recent years.”
While the project is the longest new footpath to be delivered by council in over 20 years, Cr Blain said it was also part of broader work to improve walking connections across the city.
“This is a substantial project that will help lots of people safely walk to work or to visit the dozens of businesses in the area,” he said.
“We know there are other missing links across Warrnambool that people would like to see addressed as well, and that’s exactly why the Principal Pedestrian Network Plan is so important.
“It helps us to identify the key projects and make steady progress on improving the network.”
The new footpath is a $534,000 project and is being jointly funded by council and the Australian Government via the Active Transport Fund.
Construction is expected to be complete by the end of June.
Minimal road traffic changes are anticipated while construction is under way, with everyone asked to follow all signage.
