The next stages of construction on the Level Crossing Removal Projects across three suburbs in the outer east are underway, seeing Croydon, Ringwood and Ringwood East advance towards better transport hubs.
Piling rigs have arrived on site to lay concrete foundations, with the Coolstore Road crossing in Croydon, Dublin Road crossing in Ringwood East and Bedford Road crossing in Ringwood to be removed by 2025.
“We’ve already removed 70 of these congested death traps, now we’re starting construction to build two new stations and remove three more dangerous level crossings at Croydon and Ringwood – bringing the Lilydale Line one step closer to being level-crossing free by 2025,” Premier Daniel Andrews said.
Croydon’s brand-new transport hub will see new road connections and a new rail bridge replace the Coolstore Road level crossing, and a new elevated station linking to a streamlined bus interchange.
The 105-tonne piling rig at Croydon Station will dig 28 holes up to 35 metres deep – equivalent to a 10-storey building – to be filled with more than 1,000 cubic metres of concrete that will support the rail bridge.
At Dublin Road, two piling rigs have started digging the 575 holes needed to support the walls of the 650-metre-long rail trench and a new Ringwood East Station.
Piling works will begin early next year at Bedford Road, in preparation for the rail line to be lowered into a 380-metre-long trench, and a new walking and cycling path will be built to connect the Heathmont Rail Trail to Bedford Park, alongside the Belgrave line.
“These projects will allow people in the east to get home safer and sooner, while creating thousands of jobs during construction,” Acting Transport and Infrastructure Minister Ben Carroll said.
A construction blitz across all three level crossing sites in August will see crews work around the clock to upgrade critical signalling systems and dig foundations.
To allow this work to safely take place, buses will replace trains from Blackburn to Belgrave / Lilydale from 8.30pm Wednesday 9 August until the last service on Tuesday 15 August.
The week-long construction blitz will also require temporary road changes, including the closure of Coolstore Road, Croydon at the rail line from Wednesday 9 August to Wednesday 16 August, and closing Bedford Road at the level crossing from Thursday 10 August to Monday 14 August.
Removing the Coolstore Road, Dublin Road and Bedford Road level crossings will ease congestion for the 34,000 vehicles that travel through them each day.
North-Eastern Metropolitan Region MP Sonja Terpstra said these removals will “make it safer for people to move around, transforming the way our communities travel.”
The Lilydale Line will be level crossing free by 2025, while the Belgrave Line will be level crossing free between Ferntree Gully and the city – changing the way people live, work and travel.
