The Victorian suburb of Calder Park is now level crossing free, with the new Calder Park Drive bridge over the rail line opening to motorists.
This marks the 87th level crossing in Melbourne to be taken away as part of the state’s Level Crossing Removal Project.
The Victorian Government said removing the crossing will improve traffic flow, boost safety and allow for the nearby level crossing at Holden Road to also be closed.
More than 10,000 vehicles used these two level crossings each day, facing delays of up to 26 minutes when 25 trains travelled through the crossings in the morning rush hour.
Over the coming months, crews will complete the Calder Park Drive bridge’s shared use path and landscaping works, planting more than 200 trees and 100,000 plants, shrubs and grasses throughout the area.
Two former race cars were among the first vehicles to test drive the new Calder Park Drive road bridge ahead of its opening.
The 1990 Chevrolet Lumina NASCAR and the 1990 Holden VN Commodore AUSCAR both raced at the nearby Calder Park Raceway’s Thunderdome in the 1990s.
“We took the cars for a couple of laps over the bridge and it was a smooth ride,” said driver Richard White.
“The whole team have done an awesome job. It’s an impressive overpass. We used to come down Calder Park Drive to go to the raceway and it’s great to see all the new development in the area.”
