CHILTERN’S Yeddonba Indigenous Rock Art site is now expected to be re-opened by December.

It will be more than four years since the Yeddonba site was fenced off and padlocked by Parks Victoria over concerns with the structural integrity of its walkway and viewing platform.

In 2022, then Environment Minister Lily D’Ambrosio said the work was a priority for Parks Victoria and would commence in the first half of that year.

Several follow-ups with subsequent ministers and failed tender processes have followed before another promise of completion by December 2024.

Ongoing closure has meant continued lack of access for locals and tourists alike to the significant cultural site and tourist attraction.

In response to a question from Member for Benambra Bill Tilley in the Victorian Parliament last month the current Environment Minister Steve Dimopoulos said “works to reinstate access is expected to be completed in December 2025”.

Mr Tilley said he won’t be popping any champagne corks just yet.

“This has been a long, frustrating tale of everything that is failing with this Labor Government,” he said.

“Three Ministers, two failed promises and now a date set at the end of the year – pessimistically I’d say that’s a long way off, given the history of this project.

“It can’t be that hard to fix, it’s a wooden walkway on some supports – there are backyard decks that are more complex.”

A Parks Victoria spokesperson told the Ovens and Murray Advertiser in January it was important the environmental body got the project right.

Mr Tilley has also been advised that Parks Victoria is expecting to receive final engineering advice on the Spring Creek Bridge located in the Beechworth Historic Park by the end of June.

That advice is expected to detail the extent of work needed to repair the flood damaged bridge, including cost estimates.

The bridge has been closed since October 2022 due to safety concerns about its structural integrity.

Several independent engineering assessments of the Spring Creek Bridge were undertaken late last year.