The rail bridge will be about 600m long, starting around Braeside Avenue and coming back down just past the Macleod Stabling Yard. There will be a clearance of 4.8m under the rail line on Ruthven Street.
You can view a map of the proposed rail bridge design on our Engage Victoria webpage.
More details will be available as the project progresses.
As we’re in the early design phase, we’re yet to determine how much track we will renew while we build the new rail bridge.
It’s likely that we will put new tracks and sleepers in the rail corridor from south of Macleod Station through to near the intersection of Ellesmere Parade and Braeside Avenue.
We will continue further design and engineering assessments over the coming months to confirm the exact length of track we’ll replace.
There are many different reasons for removing level crossings, and different benefits from each project.
Removing the Ruthven Street level crossing will eliminate almost 30 minutes of boom gate downtime in the morning peak, saving travel time for the 12,600 drivers that travel down Ruthven and Chapman streets each weekday. This means less congestion and more reliable travel times for locals.
The 12,600 drivers data comes from traffic counts carried out in 2022 when this level crossing removal was announced, before the North East Link started construction.
Not only will there be benefits for traffic flow in Macleod, removing the Ruthven Street level crossing will improve safety, removing the interface between trains and road users like drivers, pedestrians and bike riders.
We're also building a new walking and cycling path along Ellesmere Parade from Ruthven Street to Davies Street. This section of the path is the missing link between existing paths on McNamara Street and Ellesmere Parade.
There is a business case about the Level Crossing Removal Project on the website that provides further information about the benefits of the program as a whole, check that out if you are interested.
We're working with the renowned architecture firm Genton to develop the rail bridge design.
For every project, we develop unique Urban Design Guidelines that inform the appearance, features and finishes of the level crossing removal solution.
Some of the design elements for the new rail bridge may be similar to elements used in the rail bridge design at Lower Plenty Road, Rosanna, however we try to tailor each removal to be designed to complement the area that it is located in.
We also consider what the community wants to see in the rail bridge design, landscaping and features and finishes.
The first phase of consultation is underway to better understand how locals move around the area and what they love about Macleod and Rosanna. This feedback, along with technical and engineering assessments, will inform concept designs - you can submit feedback on the project by visiting Engage Victoria. Feedback is open until 11.59pm, Tuesday 23 December.
We'll come back to the community with more information about the project, construction timelines and concept designs of the rail bridge, landscaping and walking and cycling path next year. We'll also share opportunities to help shape aspects of the designs.
We release 2 stages of visualisations on our projects – concept designs and final designs.
Concept design images will be available in early next year, and final design images will be available further into 2026.
These images will give you an idea of what the bridge will look like when it’s finished, along with what features, finishes and landscaping is included in the design.
The scope of our project is to remove the Ruthven Street level crossing and build a new rail bridge. We’re also building a new walking and cycling path along Ellesmere Parade and a new signalised pedestrian crossing on Ruthven Street near the rail bridge, which will use traffic signals to help pedestrians and bike riders cross the road.
We work with other organisations like Banyule City Council and the Department of Transport and Planning to ensure that our removal design increases safety for all locals in the area.
In the coming months, we will continue working closely with Council and the Department to see what controls and improvements might need to be included in the design to improve journeys in the area.