A DAMAGED bridge means a popular bike route to La Trobe University will be closed for over a year.

The bridge across Darebin Creek - linking two sides of the Darebin shared path east of Summerhill Village in Reservoir - has been closed since February when a car was torched on it, leaving the structure beyond repair.

Darebin Council said it would take until April next year to build a new bridge.

Planning services director Paul Crapper blamed the lengthy time frame on the need for design approval from several "key authorities", including insurers, engineers and Melbourne Water, which regulates the waterway.

The closure has frustrated Darebin Men's Shed volunteer Peter Bennett, whose social cycling group had lost access to its favourite route.

"It's one of the gems on the bike path, there are beautiful lakes you pass on the trail. It's an important amenity walkers and riders can use," Mr Bennett said.

Mr Bennett said cyclists heading to the university must now continue north to Plenty Rd and risk their lives on the busy arterial, instead of taking the path's eastern fork into La Trobe's grounds.

"There's no cycle paths (on Plenty Rd) so it's putting cyclists into heavy traffic. It won't be long before someone gets knocked."

Darebin Bicycle Users Group convener Michael Hansford said the path was an important link and "the council should be giving it a higher priority".

Melbourne Water North East region waterways manager David Norman said the hold up was not at his end.

He said the water authority provided design advice to the council in May and gave conditional approval for a new bridge in October.

"The next step is for council to accept the conditions of working on the waterway," Mr Norman said.

"(We) are keen to continue working collaboratively with council to see a timely reinstatement of the bridge."

Mr Crapper said the council had met its insurance excess, but was waiting on its insurer to advise the final design costs.

"Taking into consideration the prefabrication and Christmas break, we can confirm that the fabricators will have the steel completed by mid-February 2014," Mr Crapper said.

"With this, the estimated date for completion is April 2014 subject to weather conditions."