The new Akuna Drive link road is open, keeping locals moving safely between Newport and Williamstown.
Akuna Drive connects Champion Road to Maddox Road and includes car parking for up to 80 vehicles on both sides of the road, with a further 50 parking spaces on Park Crescent.
The new road is part of the project to get rid of 2 dangerous level crossings at Maddox and Champion roads, easing congestion and boosting safety by separating trains from vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians.
With the new link road now open, a 2-week construction blitz will kick off to build the passenger rail bridges over Maddox Road.
Buses will replace trains between Newport and Werribee from Friday night, 10 April to last service, Friday 24 April as crews work 24/7 on the new rail bridges, and lift in the new pedestrian and cycling bridge over Champion Road, set to open in mid April.
Champion Road will close permanently at the rail line from Friday 10 April, and a shuttle bus will be available to safely transport locals across the rail line until the new pedestrian and cycling bridge opens.
When passenger trains return to the Werribee Line on Saturday 25 April, they will also return to the Altona Loop and run on the new elevated bridges over Maddox Road, while crews start to build the third rail bridge over the road that will transport freight trains later this year.
Five level crossings are going for good in Melbourne’s inner west, at Newport, Altona, Spotswood and Yarraville, making the Werribee Line boom gate free by 2030.
