Major works have kicked off in Truganina, Victoria to build the new Hopkins Road bridge, with a 65-tonne piling rig already hard at work digging bridge foundations on the north side of the rail line.
A five-day 24/7 construction blitz in Melton and Truganina wrapped up last week, with crews undertaking preparatory track works.
At Hopkins Road, the piling rig will dig 48 holes up to 9m deep as part of the foundations for the new road bridge.
The removal of the Hopkins Road level crossing will see trains separated from vehicles by building a new road bridge over the rail line.
The Victorian government said separating trains and vehicles will “improve safety and travel reliability”, with a dedicated shared use path on the road bridge for pedestrians and cyclists.
The level crossing will be gone and the new road bridge open by 2026 – two years ahead of schedule – along with level crossings at Exford, Coburns and Ferris roads in Melton.
As part of Victoria’s Big Build, seven level crossings will be removed in total between the city and Melton.
A new Melton Station is also being built, making Melton level crossing free by 2026.
A total of 110 “dangerous and congested” level crossings will be removed across Melbourne by 2030.
“Removing level crossings improves safety and reduces congestion, helping motorists, pedestrians, cyclists and public transport users,” a Victorian government spokesperson said.
“Our work helps create thousands of jobs during construction and helps get people home safer and faster.”
