In a single week of heavy lifting, 39 massive concrete beams have been hoisted into place at two level-crossing removal sites in Dandenong South.
At South Gippsland Highway, crews installed 17 concrete beams to form a road bridge over the rail line in one weekend.
Each of the Victorian-built pre-cast beams weighed more than 30 tonnes.
Works are also continuing to upgrade the intersection at Princes Highway.
The level crossing is expected to be removed by 2022.
At the second site at Greens Road, a rail bridge is being built across the road.
More than 22 beams were lifted in place over seven days from 16 February.
Greens Road is one of the last four level crossings being removed on the Cranbourne line. Eight kilometres of track is also being duplicated.
The Greens Road level crossing is expected to be gone by 2023.
The State Government’s $15 billion upgrade of the Cranbourne and Pakenham rail lines is expected to boost peak-time passenger capacity by 45 per cent.
The level crossing removals are hoped to relieve congestion for about 54,000 vehicles a day, including freight trucks in the manufacturing hub.
Large-scale logistics and warehouse businesses, including Amazon, are based within five kilometres of the crossings.
The Dandenong industrial precinct is home to about 60,000 jobs and 10 per cent of Victoria’s manufacturing output.
Dandenong MP Gabrielle Wiliams said the level-crossings’ removal was “bringing faster freight movements one step closer through Victoria’s biggest manufacturing hub”.
“Dandenong’s Big Build is revitalising local infrastructure, creating more jobs, and making travel faster and easier for both industry and the community.”
