The level crossing at Toorak Road has been removed six months ahead of schedule, marking the 35th such removal under the current Victorian Government.
Trains will now travel over a new rail bridge at what was once among Victoria’s most congested level crossings.
Crews worked around the clock for nine days in April 2020 to remove the boom gates, lay new tracks, install wiring and signalling and connect the new rail bridge to the Glen Waverley Line.
From 14 April, Toorak Road will be reopened, with cars no longer facing boom gate delays.
The Toorak Road/Monash Freeway interchange is one of the most congested intersections in Melbourne.
Prior to its removal, the level crossing was a major bottleneck with boom gates down for around 35 per cent of the morning peak, causing delays and frustration for the 37,000 vehicles travelling through the crossing each day.
The new rail bridge was largely constructed with 40 locally manufactured L-beams forming the bridge, each up to 31mlong and weighing up to 128 tonnes. Works on open space will be complete in 2021.
Strict protocols are in place on all Major Transport Infrastructure Authority worksites to protect the health and safety of construction workers and the community, and are consistent with the advice from the Chief Health Officer.
This includes modifying construction activities to allow social distancing and providing extra protection for workers who need to work in proximity for short periods of time. There are also enhanced industrial cleaning and additional hygiene measures in place.
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 level crossing was removed under the Victorian Government’s $70 billion Big Build program. Works under this program are to continue throughout 2020.
