A contract to remove three level crossings and build two new stations in Melbourne’s southeast has been awarded by the Victorian Government.
Level crossings will be removed at Park Road and Carman Road in Cheltenham, and Balcombe Road in Mentone, under a $536 million contract awarded to a consortium of Lendlease, Acciona Coleman Rail and WSP.
To facilitate the removal of the three level crossings from the Frankston line, the railway will be lowered during a two-month shutdown midway through 2020.
Cheltenham and Mentone stations, both heritage-listed, will be incorporated into the design of the new stations, and a third track will be built at Cheltenham to allow for more trains, the Government said this week.
The project will also include more than three kilometres of walking and cycling paths connecting the stations, better lighting and accessibility, landscaping, new open space, parking, and potential residential and retail development, transport infrastructure minister Jacinta Allan said.
“Cheltenham and Mentone are going to have a busy year and I thank residents in advance for their patience during construction, which will deliver more trains, more often,” Allan said.
The Government said five heritage-listed trees in the Mentone station gardens will be protected in their current location during construction. A major landscaping program will create a new ‘garden bridge’ across the rail trench near Balcombe Road.
The Lendlease, Acciona Coleman Rail and WSP consortium already removed the Seaford Road level crossing and is also removing three crossings in Carrum. It will continue to coordinate with Metro Trains Melbourne on the new work.
In all, the Andrews Government’s Level Crossing Removal program is removing 18 crossings and rebuilding 11 stations on the Frankston Line alone.