Wentworth Falls Lake – Viewing Platform and Pedestrian Walkway opening

2 October 2024

The new accessible viewing platform and pedestrian walkway on the eastern bank of Wentworth Falls Lake is now partially open to the community, providing serene views over the water and surrounding landscape.

The wide viewing platform and walkway replaces the old wooden structure on this side of the lake and gives visitors increased access to experience the lake environment.

From Waratah Road, visitors can now travel along an accessible path that winds along the eastern lake shore, through to the new viewing platform and pedestrian walkway. The walk currently ends at the construction area of the upcoming spillway and dam upgrades.

The opening of the viewing platform and pedestrian walkway is a major milestone for the lake precinct upgrade project and opens more of the lake to a broader range of people.

Significant features of the viewing platform include:

Increased protection of the lake edge, flora and fauna by raising the walkway from the lake edge.

Lowered handrails on the ‘top deck’ of the viewing platform that provide someone in a wheelchair with an unobstructed view over the lake.

A well-integrated, sympathetic design which balances form with function. This includes the use of Corten steel, that will weather and blend with the backdrop of the trees and sandstone cutting, over time.

The use of decking with a heel guard mesh.

Tactile bumps on handrails to aid navigation for people with impaired vision.

It has been built for the future and constructed from appropriate materials that will withstand future weather events.

Extensive community consultation took place in 2022 on the design of the viewing platform and walkway, resulting in a revised design with a reduced amount of Corten steel featured in the structure.

Over recent months work on a range of complementary accessibility upgrades around the lake have progressively opened for the community, including a new section of the shared path along Sinclair Crescent and a new carpark on Waratah Road.

What’s next:

On-site preparations for the spillway, dam wall and boat ramp upgrades are anticipated to start from Friday, 4 October 2024.

Highly experienced dam remediation contractor, Entracon, has been selected to deliver these important improvements.

The construction methods being used to remediate the spillway and dam wall will result in a small water drawdown of up to 600mm. The condition of the dam wall below the water will require ongoing assessment as work progresses. These works are currently scheduled to be completed in the first half of 2025.

Upgrades to precinct seating, shelters and BBQ facilities as well as the formalisation of a full a precinct walk are also still to come as part of the precinct upgrades.

Visitors are reminded to stay out of all construction areas while the precinct upgrades are underway.

Community Information Sessions

The Community Consultation Outcomes report is available here.

Thank you to everyone who came along to one of our community information sessions in November 2023.

The information and design materials that were presented and discussed at the events are available below:

The Wentworth Falls Lake Precinct upgrade.

Council has been working to carefully enhance the upgrade plans for Wentworth Falls Lake, in order to deliver an expanded package of works that best support the community’s vision for this iconic recreational precinct:

Dam upgrades: upgrade of the spillways, upstream dam wall and weir infrastructure to improve control of water levels for fire protection and community resilience. An upgraded boat ramp, landscaping and staging area for emergency vehicles will also be delivered.
Accessible walkway and viewing platform: a new pedestrian bridge and viewing platform, and improvements to how visitors access the northern edge of the lake to Waratah Road.
Precinct walk: a walk around the lake and a link to Waratah Road.
Carparks: new carparks on Sinclair Crescent and Waratah Road.
Plus upgraded precinct seating, shelters and BBQ facilities.

Council is now positioned to deliver the best outcome for the community through a broad package of upgrades that not only enhance how the lake and its surroundings can be experienced, but provide increased protections from future flood and fire events.

More information is available the News Feed below and a series of Frequently Asked Questions can be found on the right of this page.

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