Located at Lake Macquarie, around 140km north of Sydney, the Fernleigh Awabakal Shared Track has existed for almost a quarter of a century. Until recently, it had never been fully completed and we’re delighted to say FORGE (formerly Fleetwood Urban) was chosen to play a central role in making it happen.

Affectionately known as ‘FAST’, the first section of the Fernleigh Awabakal Shared Track opened back in the early 2000s. However, several critical missing links meant the journey for joggers, hikers and cyclists was always an interrupted one.

Late last year, a series of major upgrade works commissioned by Lake Macquarie City Council were completed including a new 25-metre pedestrian bridge over Cold Tea Creek on picturesque Belmont Lagoon – detailed, manufactured and installed by FORGE.

As NSW Premier Chris Minns noted, “The new shared track is a great addition to the Lake Macquarie area as well as a tourism drawcard for cyclists and fitness-minded visitors.”

Along with a series of new wetlands boardwalks, amenities and art installations, the result is now a 27km uninterrupted active transport link connecting the towns of Murrays Beach and Adamstown – the longest active transport route anywhere in the Hunter region of NSW.

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Dreamtime inspiration, real-world practicality.

The unique teardrop form of the pedestrian bridge at Cold Tea Creek was inspired by the Awabakal Dreamtime story of how Belmont Lagoon was formed ‘when the moon cried’.

The design concept itself had already been approved when FORGE was engaged to the project. Our job was to make it buildable – in collaboration with lead contractor, Glascott Landscape & Civil.

Whilst undeniably beautiful to look at, the teardrop aesthetic proved especially challenging to deliver, relying on headstocks to support the bridge’s arched shape via lateral restraint, rather than using a larger, self-supporting superstructure.

Achieving this, whilst staying true to the original design vision, required many hours of painstaking design detailing and engineering. Particular attention was needed to develop the complex network of footings to safely handle the necessary load transfers.

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Minor design change delivers major project savings.

During the detailing and development process, the FORGE team also identified an opportunity to trim almost six months from the construction program. It was a relatively minor design change – but the time savings were significant and Lake Macquarie Council gratefully approved our recommendation.

The Cold Tea Creek pedestrian bridge was completed in mid-2024, and delivered with funding support from the NSW Government Regional Growth Environment and Tourism Fund and the Australian Government Black Summer Bushfire Recovery Fund.

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“Until now (Belmont Lagoon) has been a bit of a hidden gem, but the Fernleigh Awabakal Shared Track provides a very low impact means of shedding light on this natural and cultural wonder. It also contributes to our ongoing push to promote tourism and active transport in Lake Macquarie and expand our city’s network of family-friendly shared pathways,” says Lake Macquarie Mayor Kay Fraser.

Fernleigh Awabakal Shared Track (FAST) project highlights

25-metre single span 'teardrop' pedestrian bridge (FORGE)
400-metre elevated accessible wetlands boardwalk (Glascott Landscape & Civil)
Accessible public amenities (Glascott Landscape & Civil)
Awabakal cultural bronze art installations (Aboriginal artists Shellie Smith and Daniella Chedzey, with fellow artist Julie Squires)

If you’d like to know more about FORGE’s involvement in the development and delivery of the Cold Tea Creek Bridge, please get in touch.

Architecture & Design Team

FORGE

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