A nearly 100-tonne steel gantry manufactured in Geelong has been installed as part of the M80 Ring Road Completion.
The 67-metre-long structure was transported as a single piece from Geelong and lifted into place between Plenty Road and the M80 Interchange in late September.
It is the largest gantry on the project and will be used to support overhead directional signage, signals for the Plenty Road on-ramp and CCTV cameras.
The delicate operation of lifting the gantry into place was completed by an 800-tonne crane operated by Johnson and Young Cranes during an overnight closure of the M80 Ring Road.
Manufactured by Thornton Engineering at its Geelong facility using Australian steel, it was transported to Bundoora by Doolan’s Heavy Haulage.
Thornton Engineering completes its steel fabrication work in-house, including material processing, cutting, drilling, forming, welding, machining and protective coatings.
Simon Boyd, General Manager of the Structural and Plate Division at Thornton Engineering says being part of the M80 Ring Road Completion project is an important part of their business and creates a solid 12-month pipeline of work for their 260 staff and their subcontractors.
“Obtaining these larger scale infrastructure projects is key to our business's success,” Mr Boyd said.
Once complete the M80 Ring Road Completion will add new lanes and smart technology to the M80 Ring Road, creating a seamless connection to the new North East Link tunnels.
The project will also:
- take up to 15,000 cars and trucks off local roads each day
- deliver new landscaped bridges at Elder Street and Watsonia Road
- improve connections to Watsonia Station, local shops and community facilities
- deliver more than 10 kms of new and upgraded walking and cycling paths.
When completed in 2028, North East Link will fix the missing link in Melbourne’s freeway network, delivering 3 major road projects in 1 with the North East Link tunnels, Eastern Freeway Upgrades and the M80 Ring Road Completion.