Victoria removes congested level crossing to ease rail traffic

Australia’s Victoria Government has removed level crossing number 35 at the Toorak Road six months ahead of schedule to ease rail traffic in Melbourne.

The trains will now travel over Glen Waverley Line, the new rail bridge at Toorak Road. The road is scheduled to reopen on April 14, with cars no longer facing boom gate delays.

With almost 37,000 vehicles travelling through the crossing each day, the Toorak Road/Monash Freeway interchange is one of the most congested intersections in Melbourne.

It was a major bottleneck with boom gates down for around 35% of the morning peak times, causing delays to the travellers.

The new rail bridge was mostly constructed with 40 locally manufactured L-beams, each up to 31m-long and weighing up to 128 tonnes. Works on open space are expected to complete next year.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said: “We’ve removed 35 dangerous and congested level crossings and are now almost halfway to delivering on our promise of removing 75 level crossings by 2025.”

The level crossing has been removed under the Victorian Government’s A$70bn Big Build programme, which will continue throughout this year.

Meanwhile, strict protocols have been introduced on all major transport infrastructure authority worksites to protect the health and safety of construction workers and the community.

This includes altering construction activities to allow social distancing and offering extra protection for personnel who need to work in proximity for short periods of time.

Enhanced industrial cleaning and additional hygiene measures are also to be carried out.