We’re removing the level crossing at Old Geelong Road in Hoppers Crossing, as part of the Victorian Government’s commitment to remove 75 dangerous and congested level crossings.

Major works start at Old Geelong Road

We’re pleased to announce that major construction is underway to remove the Old Geelong Road level crossing by building a new road bridge over the rail line, directly connecting Princes Highway to Old Geelong Road.

Crews have been working to prepare the area for the new road bridge and the new pedestrian and cyclist overpass at Hoppers Crossing Station.

We’d like to thank the local community for your support and patience during these works.

Major construction is underway to remove the Old Geelong Road level crossing.

Why this crossing has to go

More than 18,000 vehicles travel through the Old Geelong Road level crossing each day, with the boom gates down for up to 43 minutes of the morning peak.

Additionally, the level crossing is only 350m away from the Werribee Mercy Hospital, causing delays for patients, staff and emergency vehicles.

Removing this level crossing will improve safety, provide more reliable travel times and reduce congestion at this key connection point in Hoppers Crossing.

We’re committed to working with and supporting local traders.

Our aim is to minimise the impacts of construction and support local traders in the area by shopping and eating locally.

We have sourced coffees and cafe vouchers from local traders for commuters at Hoppers Crossing Station. We also use local restaurants to cater for staff events and community meetings.

Jock + Mack cafe

Aimee and husband Eden own Jock + Mack cafe, a local hot spot found at Hoppers Junction. They’ve been in business serving the local community for 2 years.

‘We have seen a diverse change in our community over time and ongoing developments that bring the locals together are exciting for Hoppers Crossing.’ Aimee says.

Aimee is a valued member of the Old Geelong Road Stakeholder Liaison Group (SLG) and is excited about the Old Geelong Road level crossing being removed.

‘The removal of the level crossing at Old Geelong Road will make it much easier to get around the local area. I joined the project's Stakeholder Liaison Group to find out more about the project and help represent local traders.’

It’s not just locals that love stopping by at Jock + Mack: ‘We’ve definitely seen an increase in foot traffic with the project being so nearby, which has been great for business.’

To find out more about Jock + Mack, visit jockandmack.com.au

Meet our project team

Daisy, Environmental Adviser

An integral part of the Old Geelong Road Level Crossing Removal Project team, Daisy ensures the project complies with environmental regulations and laws. We sat down with Daisy to hear all about her job.

What’s been the best thing about working on a major infrastructure project?

‘The team endorses every opportunity to give back to the community. We have donated over 1.5km of rail track and large tree stumps to Werribee Zoo to help improve their open range areas for rhinos and zebras,’ Daisy says.

‘We’ve also donated 400 rail sleepers to be reused by the Heritage Railway in Drysdale and more than 150 cubic metres of fresh mulch to community groups to revegetate the endangered growling grass frog’s habitat.’

What’s been your biggest achievement on the project so far?

‘Collaborating across the project team to extend the lifecycle of waste materials. We reuse materials from site to site – excess soil we excavate at one project is permanently used at another site and crushed rock that was placed at a site temporary car park is also reused elsewhere.

‘Materials we can salvage from construction are reused in the final landscape design. For example, a tree hollow from a large tree within the construction footprint was salvaged, and we’ve stored it to use in the landscape design as a habitat feature.’

Where’s your go-to lunch spot in Hoppers Crossing?

‘I can’t go past the lovely warm welcome and friendly staff at Vann’s Bakery at Hoppers Junction – plus they have the best Vietnamese pork rolls!’

What's happening in the west

We're pleased to announce that both the Cherry Street and Werribee Street level crossings have been removed, well ahead of their original 2022 targets.

With the Werribee Street level crossing now removed, works have started on new open spaces, public art and a skate park beneath the Werribee Street rail bridge.

The Cherry Street level crossing in Werribee was removed in March, with a new road bridge over the rail line that will connect Tarneit Road and Princes Highway.

Major works have kicked off on the second phase of the Aviation Road project in Laverton. The level crossing was removed in 2019, with crews now building a new pedestrian and cyclist underpass and station forecourts.

We’ll also build 100 new and upgraded car parking spaces at Aircraft Station as part of the Car Park for Commuters Program.

New artwork at Hoppers Crossing Station

TRACKwork is an art project that explores our collective social, cultural and personal narratives. It uses the designs of suburban train tickets issued between 1920 and the late 1980s.

Leading contemporary artist, Peter Atkins, created TRACKwork. His practice centres around the deconstruction of ready-made abstract forms that he documents within the urban environment.

Signage was installed in December 2020 at the Hoppers Crossing Station bus stop and the Hoppers Junction temporary pedestrian crossing. The signage includes the colourful artwork as well as lots of information about the project.

The permanent artwork will be installed on the surface of the Hoppers Crossing Station pedestrian and cyclist overpass in early 2022.

Old Geelong Road construction statistics

• We’ll dig up 63,000 cubic metres of soil around the level crossing – enough dirt to fill 26 Olympic sized swimming pools
• The road bridge will be 220m long – that’s the same length as 52 crocodiles
• We’ll lay a combined length of 1163m of piling – that’s as tall as 4 Eureka towers
• We’ll install 2100m of fencing, the equivalent of 1.2 laps of Werribee racecourse 1.2 laps
• We’ll landscape an area of 82,669 square metres, or the same area as 4.5 Melbourne Cricket Grounds

Keeping it clean and green

We’ve implemented a new waste management system across the Cherry Street, Werribee Street and Old Geelong Road project sites.

A new 5 stream recycling system has been implemented to separate organics, soft plastics, hard plastics, and paper and cardboard.

We’re the first construction project in Australia to establish the Method bin recycling system on our sites, ensuring that as much waste as possible is recycled. Within the first week of rolling out the 5-bin system and separating the different types of rubbish, our waste to landfill was reduced by around 80%.

The results have motivated us to set even higher targets on waste reduction and recycling, setting us on our journey to achieve the target of zero waste to landfill.

We’ve also increased our commitment to keeping it clean and green by undertaking a fortnightly clean-up where we tidy up areas around the project site and surrounding streets.

In a single clean-up session, we collected over 1100 litres of general waste, 100 litres of timber and steel, 100 litres of mixed recycling and 50 litres of organic waste.

Project timeline

Mid 2020

• Early works

Early 2021

• Major construction started

Mid 2021

• Road bridge beams installed over Princes Highway

Late 2021

• Road bridge beams installed over Princes Highway

2022

• Pedestrian and cyclist overpass completed
• Level crossing removed
• Landscaping works completed

*Timeline subject to change

Stay up to date

Subscribe to SMS project alerts about traffic and construction disruptions by texting Hoppers to 0438 479 376.