Canberra cyclists have been shut out of the facility since April last year, when an independent engineering report by Cardno identified structural dangers in the facility, built in 1972.

But the velodrome is on track to reopen at the end of February and the government has not ruled out adding lighting in the future.

The controversial decision to close the facility angered some of Canberra’s cycling fraternity, given it has been used as a training facility, including for cyclists with the ACT Academy of Sport.

But Brian Ashcroft, the ACT government’s manager of the project, said the upgrade would give the facility new life.

Mr Ashcroft said the improvements, which include adding an acrylic Plexipave surface to the concrete track, would alleviate issues for at least 20 years.

‘‘It was really just a training track, so to get rid of all those problems and have a track that’s got smooth transitions, I think it’s going to open up a lot of opportunities and hopefully they’ll be able to relaunch their sport on the back of it,’’ Ashcroft said.

The work on the track has included fixing the dangerous transitions between the corners and straights, with three of the four problem sections now replaced. Cracks have been resealed in the surface, while there had been lifts of up to one centimetre between some of the joints in the track.

Mr Ashcroft said there was the potential to add lights, which would enable the facility to be used at night.

Meanwhile, Paralympic gold medallist Sue Powell has been named to represent Canberra and Australia at the para-cycling world track championships in Mexico from April 10 to 13.