00:00 These tracks were designed to attract the world's best mountain bikers.
00:07 But for a long time, riders have been stopped in their tracks.
00:14 Now the final link in the chain is ready.
00:20 The bridge has been opened to riders on two wheels, or just one.
00:27 It's a relief to local mountain bikers.
00:31 "Now that it's open, how do you feel?"
00:33 "Great, really happy. I'll be down here."
00:36 Catherine Stark is also a local business owner.
00:40 And when the tracks opened in 2019, she hoped they would attract mountain biking tourists.
00:45 But for 18 months, there was no way to cross the river.
00:48 "It's been a very long process, and it's been very frustrating to know that the bridge was actually here
00:56 for so long, but couldn't legally be used."
00:59 Flooding destroyed temporary bridges in 2019 and 2022.
01:04 But by then, the council had secured a state government loan to build this mammoth 147 metre crossing,
01:10 suspended high above any future floodwaters.
01:13 The new bridge has been finished for about a year, but has only recently opened for bike riders and other users.
01:20 Tasmania's Parks and Wildlife Service says it needed to ensure the access trails met all environmental and safety standards.
01:28 "I can't explain every delay, and again, in hindsight, could we have done things differently and better?
01:33 I'd suggest we could, but hindsight's a wonderful thing."
01:37 The bridge is the longest single-span pedestrian suspension bridge in Australia,
01:41 and one of the final pieces in the puzzle of the 100 kilometre trail network.
01:46 "It's just wonderful to finally get to that point in time that we've been waiting for so long."
01:52 A bridge, lifting mountain bikers' spirits.
01:57 And whales.
01:59 [Music]
02:01 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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