By Danielle Kutchel
Construction to remove the South Gippsland Highway level crossing in Dandenong will start soon, with a contract now awarded to ease congestion and make the south-east safer.
On Thursday 12 March, Dandenong MP Gabrielle Williams announced a $98 million contract to remove what is one of Melbourne’s busiest level crossings, which sees 31,000 drivers every day stuck with the boom gates down for up to a third of the morning peak.
The dangerous level crossing was the site of four collisions and more than 40 near misses in the decade to 2015, while nearby at the intersection of South Gippsland Highway and Princes Highway there were four incidents resulting in serious injury and one fatal incident over the past ten years.
The crossing is set to be replaced with a road bridge over the rail line.
The new road bridge design minimises closures of the Pakenham line and disruptions to the local community, and a shared user path will also provide a connection between the South Gippsland Highway and Dandenong South Trail for pedestrians and cyclists.
Work to remove the South Gippsland Highway level crossing will be completed by 2022, as one of 17 crossings being removed on the Pakenham line.
The project will be delivered by an alliance of Fulton Hogan and Metro Trains Melbourne, who are currently removing level crossings at Clyde Road in Berwick, Evans Road in Lyndhurst and Cardinia Road in Pakenham.
For information about the project, visit www.levelcrossings.vic.gov.au.
