One of Victoria’s most congested level crossings has been officially removed, with trains travelling over a new rail bridge at Toorak Road for the first time.
It is the 35th level crossing to be removed under the Victorian Government’s Level Crossing Removal Project and was removed six months ahead of schedule.
Prior to its removal, the Toorak Road/Monash Freeway interchange was a major bottleneck with boom gates down for around a third of the morning peak. This caused delays for the 37,000 vehicles travelling through the crossing each day.
Construction crews have worked around the clock for nine days to remove the boom gates, lay new tracks, install wiring and signalling and connect the new rail bridge to the Glen Waverley Line. Toorak Road has been reopened, with cars no longer facing delays from boom gates.
“Our construction team has worked around the clock to remove this level crossing – and more vital works continue across our city and state, with additional measures to keep workers safe and to get these projects done,” Transport Infrastructure Minister Jacinta Allan said.
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All Major Transport Infrastructure Authority worksites are adhering to strict protocols to protect the health and safety of construction workers and the community from COVID-19.
Part of this includes modifying construction activities to allow for social distancing and providing extra protection for workers who need to work in proximity for short periods of time. Enhanced industrial cleaning and additional hygiene measures have also been put into place.
“Work looks a little different on our big build – with extra physical distancing precautions in place due to coronavirus, so we can protect our workers and protect their jobs,” Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said.
“We’ve removed 35 dangerous and congested level crossings and are now almost half way to delivering on our promise of removing 75 level crossings by 2025.”
The new rail bridge was built from 40 locally manufactured L-beams, each up to 31 metres long and weighing up to 128 tonnes. Works on the open space will be competed in 2021.