A new road connection has opened in Dandenong today, built as part of works to remove the Webster Street level crossing, and making journeys through the busy city centre faster, safer and more reliable.
The 450m road underpass extends Cheltenham Road to provide a direct east-west connection between Princes Highway-Lonsdale Street and Cheltenham and Hammond roads for the first time, improving traffic flow and helping divert trucks and heavy vehicles away from local streets and the Dandenong CBD.
This major milestone in Dandenong marks the 96th level crossing removed and the final removal for the year, with a total of 8 gone in 2026, improving safety and easing congestion across greater Melbourne.
Every level crossing on the Pakenham, Cranbourne and Sunbury line is gone for good – a stretch of around 100km – connecting to the Metro Tunnel without a single boom gate.
In the 10 years since the first level crossing was removed, safety data shows the program has prevented 121 crashes and near misses between trains, vehicles and pedestrians each year across Melbourne’s metropolitan rail network, while slashing commute times by eliminating 62 hours of boom gate down time during the morning peak.
As part of the program, more than 50 new and upgraded stations have been built, over 20 MCGs of open space have been created, and 76km of cycling and pedestrian paths have been added. The project has also planted 4.2 million shrubs and grasses, as well as 31,000 trees.
The new Cheltenham Road underpass in Dandenong follows the opening of a new walking and cycling path along Webster Street last year, connecting to the existing Dandenong Trail and providing safer access under the rail line for pedestrians and cyclists.
Thousands of people turned out to celebrate the road opening on Sunday, with the community able to walk through the underpass before it opened to vehicles.
The boom gates at Webster Street were down for more than half of the morning peak, meaning more than an hour of delays for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists – this is now a thing of the past.
In the Greater Dandenong area, 8 level crossings are now gone for good, boosting safety and reliability for vehicles and eliminating nearly 6 hours of boom gate down time from the morning peak.
