The Andrews Government will remove level crossings in Surrey Hills and Mont Albert and build two new stations in the progress.
Just days after the Labor Party’s resounding election victory in Victoria, Premier Daniel Andrews named the next two level crossings to go under his government’s removal program: Union Road in Surrey Hills, and Mont Albert Road in Mont Albert.
The removals will make the Belgrave/Lilydale line crossing-free between Ringwood and the CBD.
Andrews said roughly 22,000 vehicles currently travel through the two crossings each day, and that traffic is forecast to grow to over 26,000 by 2026.
The crossings are also deadly: Two serious collisions have taken place since 2005, including a collision in 2016 when two people died at Union Road.
The premier said preliminary advice from expert engineers was that the preferred design is rail under road, subject to further detailed engineering work and community consultation.
“No Government has ever removed this many level crossings so quickly,” Andrews said.
“We’re reducing congestion, saving lives and creating thousands of jobs along the way – and we’re just getting started. These level crossings are dangerous – we said we would remove them, and we will.”