Construction of the Watsons Road bridge in Diggers Rest has entered its final stages, with traffic set to start travelling safely over the Sunbury Line later this year.
Getting rid of this dangerous level crossing by permanently separating vehicles and trains will boost safety and ease congestion in the growing area north of Diggers Rest.
Retaining walls on both sides of the 350m long bridge have been filled with 17,500 cubic metres of soil – equivalent to 7 Olympic-sized swimming pools – with 838 concrete panels positioned into place to form the facade of the bridge embankments.
Crews have also lifted more than 100 road barriers into place to form the edge of the road bridge, with road surfacing works and kerb and drainage construction now underway.
It follows the removal of the Old Calder Highway level crossing earlier this year, when the Golden Way road bridge opened to traffic in the heart of Diggers Rest, making Diggers Rest boom gate free.
More than 8000 vehicles used the 2 level crossings in Diggers Rest every day, facing delays of up to 36 minutes when 27 trains travelled through the crossings during the morning peak.
Every set of boom gates are now gone from the Sunbury Line, with passengers set to benefit from more frequent and reliable journeys when the Metro Tunnel opens in December, providing access to 5 new underground stations in the heart of Melbourne.
Across Melbourne, we’re removing 110 level crossings by 2030, with 87 already gone for good, boosting safety and easing congestion.
