May has seen pouring rain and pouring concrete. Kilmany’s newest attraction, the rail bridge, is taking shape as part of the Princes Highway East Upgrade.
With arch segments craned into place and 200 cubic metres of concrete poured to create the foundation, over 700 tonnes of materials have been recently installed. That's equivalent to 11 E-Class Trams or 130 elephants!
The Princes Highway East Upgrade team has adopted a unique approach to building the bridge "off-line" to avoid disruptions to train services and minimize inconvenience to road and rail users. This technique has not been commonly used in Australian construction history. The 95-meter-long bridge will be constructed on site and then skillfully slid into place over the next few months.
From there we'll begin works on a newly completed duplication in both directions to go under the new bridge, making road and rail journeys easier and safer.
The Princes Highway East Upgrade has been jointly funded by the Victorian and Commonwealth Governments and is anticipated to be complete by mid-2024.