Possums can now visit their cousins
Work men put the finishing touches to the possum bridge over the freeway. Click image
With not insignificant work and interruption to normal life, possums on both sides of the Hume freeway can now visit cousins and old friends.
To our possums, which have been, inadvertently, letting researchers from Monash University know their nocturnal habits, comes the privilege of having only the third bridge in Australia dedicated to possum use.
Interestingly, no one in Violet Town was told of the to-be-constructed possum bridge. We have since learned that research into the habits of possums in Violet Town either side of the freeway was happening during the last couple of years.
The bridge is in fact a rope ladder strung between two poles high above the freeway, which based on experience of previous researchers, allows possums to safely cross. Once on the other side possums can reach the ground via another rope that connects the ladder to a tree.
A controller organised heavy traffic through Violet Town. Click image
Signs were placed along the freeway north and south of Violet Town advising motorists the way would be closed on Saturday.
For a few hours all traffic, including trucks, buses, cars and caravans, travelling the freeway found its way along the former Hume Highway, requiring the services of a traffic controller.
We can only wait to find out whether possums are using the bridge.
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