It’s been another huge year for Victoria’s Big Build and we’ve made exciting progress on projects across the state in 2023.
Road projects
Tunnelling was completed on the West Gate Tunnel Project, early in the year. This was followed by the road deck inside the tunnels being finished, as well as the new elevated road above Footscray Road.
The Bulleen Park & Ride opened and tunnel boring machines (TBMs) have started arriving at North East Link in preparation for tunnelling to start next year.
It was also a huge year for Big Build Roads with the upgrade of Barwon Heads Road (Stage 1), Lathams Road, Narre Warren North Road and Pound Road West, while new bike lanes have been built on St Kilda Road.
Rail projects
In a significant milestone for 2023, the Sunbury Line Upgrade was finished and new High Capacity Metro Trains are now running on 2 morning peak trains every weekday, from Sunbury Station to Flinders Street Station.
Another highlight was the running of the first test trains inside the Metro Tunnel, putting the tunnel’s systems through their paces to ensure they are ready when the Metro Tunnel opens in 2025. Work on the 5 new stations also progressed and a new accessible tram stop opened on Royal Parade in Parkville.
The Level Crossing Removal Project also had a big year, removing 7 sets of boom gates at Mt Derrimut Road in Deer Park, Union Road in Surrey Hills, Mont Albert Road in Mont Albert, Glen Huntly Road and Neerim Road in Glen Huntly, Camms Road in Cranbourne and Webb Street in Narre Warren. Four new or upgraded train stations opened at Deer Park, Union, Diamond Creek and Glen Huntly. The Hurstbridge Line Duplication was also completed, which included upgraded stations opening at Greensborough and Montmorency.
In December, a consortium of global tunnelling leaders was announced as the preferred bidder for the first Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) East main works contract. The contract is for 16km of twin tunnels between Cheltenham and Glen Waverley, with TBMs on track to start digging in 2026.
In regional Victoria, the Bendigo and Echuca Line Upgrade was completed, saving travel time and building on the success of the new stations at Goornong and Huntly.