Major works can now begin on the removal of the notorious Reservoir level crossing north of Melbourne, after it was shut to traffic over the weekend.
The High Street intersection by Reservoir station will be closed to traffic until late December to facilitate the project. Trains will continue to operate for the majority of this time and the station will remain open, with detours in place for road traffic and continued changes in place for pedestrians, the state government said.
During the closure, construction crews will reconfigure the road and build two 185-metre-long steel bridge segments over the intersection.
“No Government has removed this many level crossings this quickly – 29 are gone and Reservoir will soon join them,” assistant treasurer and member for Preston Robin Scott said.
“It won’t be long until we can finally say goodbye to the dangerous and congested Reservoir level crossing – this intense period of construction is going to see the area transformed. The progress at Reservoir so far has been phenomenal, I’m looking forward to the next phase of work taking place.”
On the average weekday 36,000 vehicles travel through the Reservoir level crossing, where High Street, Cheddar Road and Spring Street intersect. The six boom gates at the intersection can be down for 24-minutes during the two-hour morning peak.
In the past decade the intersection had three recorded collisions, a fatality and 26 near misses. This included a collision between a train and a car earlier this year.
The Reservoir level crossing removal and new station are scheduled to be complete in 2020.
The state’s Level Crossing Removal Authority opted to raise the rail line over the road, saying it would offer the opportunity to develop public open space below and beside the rail bridge, including walking and cycling paths, landscaping and a public plaza for the community.
