A new six-lane bridge for Victoria’s Chandler Highway will soon ease traffic concerns, with the first sections of the new bridge deck now in place.
Minister for Roads and Road Safety, Luke Donnellan, and Member for Ivanhoe, Anthony Carbines, toured the site over the Yarra River, where construction crews have placed the last of 24 huge steel bridge beams.
The beams, each weighing up to 72 tonnes and measuring up to 52m long, have been moved into place by three cranes weighing up to 600-tonnes.
More than 44,000 drivers rely on Chandler Highway each day with the existing two-lane bridge causing a significant bottleneck and traffic congestion during the morning and afternoon peak.
On track to be completed by the end of 2018, the new Chandler Highway Bridge will triple capacity and reduce delays faced by drivers crossing the Yarra River and travelling between Ivanhoe and Kew.
The Chandler Highway is being widened to accommodate six lanes of traffic and intersections at Heidelberg Road and Yarra Boulevard are being upgraded to improve traffic flow.
New traffic lights are being installed at the Yarra Bend development along with a new pedestrian crossing to boost safety and accessibility for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.
The historic Chandler Highway bridge, completed in 1891 as part of the Outer Circle Railway line, will be transformed into a walking and cycling path for the community, linking to upgraded paths along the Yarra River.
