Progress Street will close at the level crossing this week as part of works to build the new Fowler Road bridge, which will provide vehicles with a safer way to move through the Dandenong South industrial precinct.
The new Fowler Road bridge connection will provide businesses with a safer and easier way to access South Gippsland Highway, which will have a new signalised intersection at Fowler Road to keep traffic flowing through the area.
Getting rid of the dangerous Progress Street level crossing will boost safety by removing the risk of any further incidents, particularly between passenger trains and heavy vehicles.
Closing the crossing will also eliminate frustrating delays for drivers, with the current boom gate down time of 25 minutes in the morning peak set to become even longer when more services start running on the Pakenham Line in future.
Community feedback helped to refine the final design, further improving the safety of Fowler Road by:
- providing new indented parking, increasing the driveable width from 8m to 10m
- reducing the speed limit from 60km/hr to 50km/hr
- upgrading the street lighting
- the provision of a new footpath along the south side of Fowler Road to connect to the pedestrian path on the new road bridge.
Progress Street will close at the level crossing from Tuesday 6 May to Monday 16 June while crews undertake works to connect Progress Street to the new bridge. Access to businesses will be maintained throughout construction and a temporary detour will be in place via Hallam Valley Road to keep traffic moving.
The level crossing will close permanently when the new Fowler Road bridge opens to traffic on Monday 16 June.
The crossing is one of 22 sets of boom gates going on the Pakenham Line, which will be level crossing free later this year, boosting safety and easing congestion.
Passengers on the Pakenham Line will also soon have access to 5 new state-of-the-art underground stations when the Metro Tunnel opens later this year.
