Victoria’s transport infrastructure program is set to enter an intensive phase of construction, with works on level crossing removals, road works and maintenance to disrupt the city.
Nine days of intensive construction are scheduled over the April school holidays to remove the Toorak Road level crossing, six months ahead of schedule.
Major works continue in Cheltenham and Mentone with busses replacing trains from 20 to 27 March to prepare for two-month construction blitz starting on 23 May. This blitz will see three level crossing removed and two new stations built, with station and road closures scheduled in the area during this time.
From 20 July, a three-month construction blitz will begin on the Upfield line to elevate the tracks, build two new stations and remove four level crossings, including the Bell Street crossing.
Excavation to build an underground pedestrian connection between Flinders Street Station and the new Town Hall Station in the Metro Tunnel will impact trams on Flinders Street in March, with busses replacing trains on the Sunbury line over the same period as works ramp up on the rail line.
Related stories:
- Melbourne sees big build boost over summer
- Construction blitz begins on Ballarat Line Upgrade
- VIC Budget: $27.4B for Suburban Transport Blitz
“It’s vital we continue to invest in the infrastructure that we all use to get us where we need to go. The work we’re doing in Autumn will ensure everyone gets home safer and more reliably,” Public Transport Minister Melissa Horne said.
Works on major road projects are also set to intensify, with closures scheduled on the West Gate Freeway ramps over the school holidays to carry out a range of West Gate Tunnel works, as well as overnight closures to prepare for widening works.
Major work on the second stage of the Monash Freeway upgrade is also set to start in Autumn, to deliver 36 kilometres of new lanes that will cut none minutes off the trip between Pakenham and Malvern in the morning peak. This will include a range of overnight lane and ramp closures and speed reductions until the project is completed in 2022.
There will also be intensive work on the Western Roads Upgrade that will improve roads in Werribee and Laverton, and early works will begin on the Mordialloc Freeway upgrade which will mean closures along Old Dandenong Road and Lower Dandenong Road during April.
“We’ve got nearly 120 major road and rail projects on the go across the state and this Autumn we’ll ramp up works on some of the biggest of them,” Transport Infrastructure Minister Jacinta Allan said.
“I thank passengers and motorists for their patience while we get this critical work done and encourage them to plan ahead.”