Major works are now underway to remove 3 dangerous and congested level crossings in Melbourne’s outer east, with construction ramping up in Croydon and Ringwood.
Piling rigs have arrived on site to lay concrete foundations for the next stage of construction, with the Coolstore Road, Croydon, Dublin Road, Ringwood East and Bedford Road, Ringwood crossings to be a thing of the past by 2025.
Croydon’s state-of-the-art transport hub will see new road connections and a new rail bridge replace the Coolstore Road level crossing, and a new elevated station linking to a streamlined bus interchange, making it easier and safer for commuters to connect between bus and train services.
The 105-tonne piling rig at Croydon Station will dig 28 holes up to 35m deep – equivalent to a 10 storey building – to be filled with more than 1000 cubic metres of concrete that will support the rail bridge.
At Dublin Road 2 piling rigs have started digging the 575 holes needed to support the walls of the 650m rail trench and the new Ringwood East Station.
Piling works will begin early next year at Bedford Road, in preparation for the rail line to be lowered into a 380m trench, and a new walking and cycling path will be built to connect the Heathmont Rail Trail to Bedford Park, alongside the Belgrave Line.
A construction blitz across all 3 level crossing sites in August will see crews work 24/7 to upgrade critical signalling systems and dig foundations.
To allow this work to safely take place, buses will replace trains from Blackburn to Belgrave / Lilydale from 8.30pm Wednesday 9 August until the last service on Tuesday 15 August.
The week-long construction blitz will also require temporary road changes, including the closure of Coolstore Road, Croydon at the rail line from Wednesday 9 August to Wednesday 16 August, and closing Bedford Road at the level crossing from Thursday 10 August to Monday 14 August. More road closures are expected, with lane and short-term closures at Dublin Road in August, and Dublin Road closed at the level crossing from Tuesday 5 September to Tuesday 17 October.
More than 34,000 vehicles travel through the Coolstore Road, Dublin Road and Bedford Road level crossings each day and removing them will ease congestion and boost safety.
The Lilydale Line will be level crossing free by 2025, while the Belgrave Line will be level crossing free between Ferntree Gully and the city, changing the way people live, work and travel.
Visit the disruptions page to plan your journey and for more information on disruptions.
