The Victorian Government is working to remove level crossings at Diggers Rest, as the new road bridge at Old Calder Highway takes shape.
The level crossings at the Old Calder Highway and Watsons Road are being removed by building two road bridges that will permanently separate vehicles and trains and improve safety on local roads for the growing community.
Work continued throughout September to install 450 concrete panels for the retaining wall for the new Old Calder Highway Road bridge.
Measuring 2m long and 2m high, the panels were trucked to Diggers Rest from a casting yard in Albury. These panels were then stacked on top of one another to form the walls for the new road bridge.
This work followed the completion of piling to form the foundations of the new bridge.
Later this year crews will begin site establishment at Watsons Road, ahead of major works to build the second road bridge in Diggers Rest.
More than 8000 vehicles use the Diggers Rest level crossings every day, with 27 trains travelling through the boom gates during the morning peak, creating 36 minutes of boom gate down time.
The project will take the Sunbury Line one step closer to being level crossing free in 2025. Together with the Metro Tunnel, the projects will allow more trains, more often for commuters in Melbourne’s north-west.
In total 110 level crossings are being removed across Melbourne by 2030, with 84 already gone for good.
