Spotswood and Newport Q and A

26 September 2023

Answering your questions on the Spotswood and Newport level crossing removal projects

We ran two online project updates on Tuesday 29 August and Thursday 31 August on the Spotswood and Newport level crossing removal projects.

The updates provided us with an opportunity to share more information about how we’re removing the crossings at Champion, Maddox and Hudsons roads, as well as bit about your new Spotswood Station.

Thank you to everyone who attended the sessions. We’ll be holding in person information sessions in October, so keep an eye on our website for more information.

Below are the top questions we answered in the sessions.

Because these sessions are covering a lot of information, we wanted to make sure we were able to get through everything and answer as many questions as possible at the end.

By having pre-submitted questions, we were able to tailor the presentation to make sure we could answer as many as possible.

You will have an opportunity to speak directly with the project team in October and ask more questions. We look forward to meeting many of you face to face.

In the meantime, you are welcome to contact us any time via email, phone or social media. We’ll put up contact details at the end of the session.

We’re investigating a new link road connection at Akuna Drive to keep locals moving between Champion Road and Maddox Road.

We’re looking at a variety of options for this new road connection between Maddox and Champion roads.

The exact location of the new link road will be determined following further technical work and stakeholder engagement. We’ll update the community when we have more information on this.

We’ll open the new Maddox Road rail bridge and link road before Champion Road is closed.

Since 2018, our standard process for announcing new level crossing removals has been with a preferred design option, based on technical assessments.

If we could remove the level crossing and keep Champion Road open we would.

Based on extensive assessments, the only feasible design for Champion Road is to close the crossing and build a new link road to keep vehicles moving.

We investigated multiple options to remove the level crossing at Champion Road.

There are major technical constraints at this site that have ruled out raising or lowering the train line or road.
Lowering or raising the rail line would prevent trains getting in and out of the stabling yards. Any modifications would cause massive disruptions to the network.
A road over or under the rail line would cut off access to homes, businesses and heritage listed buildings, requiring extensive property acquisition.
We also must keep the Melbourne Airport fuel line open to keep Melbourne moving.

As mentioned in the presentation and as Antonia mentioned in her response, a rail bridge is the solution announced for Spotswood, because of the many underground utilities as well as being able to better connect the neighbourhood.

Community feedback plays an important role in all level crossing removal projects and helps us refine designs so we can best meet community needs.

There will include opportunities to help shape key elements of the design, like walking and cycling connections, landscaping and open space as the project progresses before designs are finalised.

We look forward to working together to help shape your new spaces.

We know that local connections are very important. We will be building new walking and cycling connections at both Newport and Spotswood to help keep the community connected. Pedestrians and cyclists will be able to cross the rail line at Champion Road.

At this stage of the process, the exact location of the paths is yet to be determined. We will be working closely with the local community, bicycle user groups, local council, the Department of Transport and other key stakeholders. Whatever we build will be accessible for everyone in the community.

There will be opportunities for the community to get involved, so as others have mentioned, don’t forget to sign up for the emails.

Each level crossing has its own set of characteristics to consider when preparing to remove it. A design that may suit one area, like Williamstown, may not necessarily suit another.

We consider all options through a detailed analysis and design process to find the best solution for the area. Technical, environmental and community impacts are all considered in this process.

A rail trench or road-under solution is not possible in this location, due to the major pipelines and other underground utilities running along and across the rail line. That’s why a rail bridge has been determined as the best design solution for Hudsons Road.

More work will now be done on the design, including site investigations.

We will continue to update the community regarding project planning and engagement when we have more information. There will be community consultation on the projects before designs are finalised.

We aim to minimise disruptions on local community and traders as much as possible. It is early days for these projects, and we’ll be sharing more information about what to expect as the project progresses.

We’ll be working closely with residents and traders near the crossings and have a range of tools to provide support in the lead up and during major construction. The benefits of a rail over road solution mean fewer road and rail disruptions.

Minimising construction noise is something we take seriously during construction. This includes thinking about how we schedule noisy works, providing notice to residents and in some cases providing relocation or other respite options.

We have worked with many schools across Melbourne near level crossing removals including well over 9000 kids near the Balcombe Road level crossing in Mentone.

We'll ensure we keep the community safe during construction and at the end of the project.

We'll upgrade Maddox Road, making it safer for the local community by:

removing the boom gates to eliminate conflict between cars, trains and other users
improving traffic flow with no boom gate downtime
adding new road safety signage.

We’ll also build new walking and cycling connections at Maddox Road and Champion Road, connecting to local paths. This will create more accessible active transport options to get to local shops, schools and nearby activities.

When we design a project, we always consider noise impacts, and we use a combination of measures to reduce noise.

Level crossing projects were the first to introduce the innovative rail bridge u-trough design which helps minimise train noise on rail bridges.

As part of the project, we upgrade rail track infrastructure to reduce the noise generated by trains moving along the tracks.

We also know from projects completed elsewhere that residents living closest to a rail bridge have experienced a noticeable drop in noise levels by:

eliminating level crossing bells
eliminating the noise generated by vehicles crossing the tracks
reducing the frequency of train horns sounding

In terms of overshadowing, we will develop and refine the design to ensure any overshadowing of shops and homes is minimised or avoided at specific times of the day.

During the design phase, we work closely with local traders to see how the final project design can support a vibrant precinct.

We are committed to supporting traders through any local disruptions.

The project will work with individual traders to work out the best solution for each impacted trader. During the development phase of the project, we can also run workshops with trader groups to co-design support that traders would like.

This might include:

Using local suppliers to cater community events, stakeholder meetings, and pop-ups at the station
‘Shop Local’ campaigns and marketing initiatives
Trader profiles in regular construction updates delivered to thousands of local properties
Purchasing vouchers for workers to use at local businesses

The project team will communicate any impacts to traders, however we do try to minimise these as much as possible. During construction, we also encourage our workforce of hundreds of workers to support local businesses when they’re in the area.

We know how important trees and vegetation are to local communities and will make every effort to minimise the impact of our works on local vegetation. We're still in the planning stages for these projects, and we don't have details on what vegetation will need to be removed.

Some vegetation removal is unavoidable as part of major infrastructure projects. We work with arborists, environmental and sustainability specialists across all of our projects to minimise vegetation removal and manage the impacts on flora and fauna.

We look to replant what we’ve removed and when trees are removed, we seek to reuse it through donations of mulch and logs to places like schools, nurseries, local community groups.

We aim to reflect the look and feel of the area in landscaping plans and look forward to working with the local community on landscaping opportunities as the project progresses and we move closer to construction.

We work with urban designers to ensure that the new structures and stations fit within the local area. Part of the design criteria is 'safety in design', which ensures that new infrastructure does not encourage antisocial behaviour. There will be a chance for the community to help shape the urban design of each project. We'll share more information as the project progresses.

Our aim is to develop designs that sit well with the area, are safe and accessible, and meet the needs of the network and community.

In our landscaping plans, we make sure we’re meeting those criteria, as well as tying into local council requirements, to ensure good landscaping that will flourish in the local area.

We also ask for community feedback on the urban design and the landscaping. There will be opportunities to get involved as the project progresses, so make sure you’ve signed up for email updates for more information.

We’re still in the very early stages of planning for this project and don’t have that level of detail yet.

As part of the design process, we work with a panel of urban design experts, including architects and heritage consultants when designing these projects.

Our aim is to develop designs that sit well with the area, recognise local heritage, are safe and accessible, and meet the needs of the network and community.

We have a solid track record preserving and integrating heritage station buildings across the state, most recently in Mont Albert and Surrey Hills, but also at the nearby North Williamstown station which dates back to the early 1900s.