Victoria's Big Build will remove five level crossings, open five new train stations, and progress several major road and rail upgrades during a bumper few months of construction.
The Frankston Line will be a step closer to being level crossing free as work continues to remove boom gates at Neerim and Glen Huntly roads in Glen Huntly, with both roads closed at times during works with detours in place.
Glenhuntly Station will close in late March ahead of demolition to make way for a new station. Buses will replace trains on part of the Frankston Line for several weekends during autumn, and Frankston Line express services will not run until mid-year. Buses will replace trams from Glenhuntly Tram Depot to Carnegie Terminus for 10 weeks from early May.
Three major regional lines will be disrupted while crews work to remove the Mt Derrimut Road, Deer Park level crossing, build the new Deer Park Station and carry out V/Line maintenance impacting the Ballarat and Geelong lines, with works to extend the regional train platforms at Sunshine Station disrupting the Bendigo Line.
Following the removal of the Deer Park level crossing, Mt Derrimut Road will close from 1 May until 2 June so crews can complete intersection upgrade works.
Bendigo and Echuca line trains will also terminate at Sunbury from 12 to 21 April, with passengers to complete their journey between Sunbury and Southern Cross on metropolitan Sunbury Line services.
Work is underway on the removal of level crossings at Union Road in Surrey Hills and Mont Albert Road in Mont Albert and the new Union Station. Buses are replacing trains until late-May on sections of the Belgrave and Lilydale lines, and local roads are closed to allow the safe removal of two dangerous and congested level crossings, ahead of the new Union Station opening to passengers in late-May.
A 44-day construction campaign on the Hurstbridge Line will see new modern stations at Greensborough and Montmorency open, and the rail track duplicated between Greensborough and Montmorency and between Diamond Creek and Wattle Glen, to allow more trains to run more often.Buses will replace trains from 16 March to 29 April on sections of the Hurstbridge Line while crews get the line ready for more train services from mid-year.
Buses will also replace trains on the Hurstbridge Line from 8pm Friday 3 March to last service up until Tuesday 7 March as North East Link crews upgrade tracks, signalling and equipment to prepare to extend the rail tunnel beneath Greensborough Highway. With tunnelling due to begin next year, intermittent lane closures and speed reductions will be in place on Greensborough Road in Macleod until June, and Manningham and Bulleen roads in Bulleen between April and September.
Elsewhere on the road network, the intersection of Hall, Evans and Cranbourne-Frankston roads in Cranbourne West is closing for eight weeks at the end of April to upgrade and realign the intersection.
Final intersection upgrade works will be complete on Pound Road West at South Gippsland Highway, reopening to traffic in mid-March, while a new roundabout on Ballart Road in Pakenham South will open in late April as part of the Healesville-Koo Wee Rup Road Upgrade. In the north, Bridge Inn Road will be closed for a weekend in May between Schotters Road and Vantage Point Boulevard to lift beams over Plenty River.
In the west, as the elevated road over Footscray Road continues to take shape traffic will switch to using the eastbound lanes in early April to allow for the westbound lanes to be closed instead.
Our $100 billion program of Big Build works is helping the economy, creating more than 50,000 jobs and transforming the way Victorians travel by making changes today, better transport tomorrow.
To find out more about how we're building big in your area, and to check before you travel, visit bigbuild.vic.gov.au.
As stated by Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Jacinta Allan
"We made huge progress on Victoria's Big Build over summer, but the work never stops as we continue to deliver state-shaping projects like the Metro Tunnel, level crossing removals, West Gate Tunnel and North East Link."
"Level crossing removals and station improvements are impacting regional rail lines across the west, so I encourage everyone to plan ahead."
