What’s been happening
The final stage of works on the Princes Highway East Upgrade between Traralgon and Sale are well underway.
When the project is complete, this final stage of the upgrade will make journeys between Traralgon and Sale quicker and safer by increasing road capacity and providing a consistent 2-lane highway in both directions.
Major bridge works complete
The new 95-metre steel arch bridge has been moved 27 metres into its new home on the Gippsland rail line, with trains returning to service on Tuesday 25 July 2023.
During the rail closure:
- there was an average of 50 specialist workers onsite each day
- 76 steel bridge hangers were installed and tensioned
- the 3,200-tonne bridge was slid 27 metres into its final position
- over 2,200m³ of concrete was poured to build the bridge
- over 18,000 tonnes of material were excavated from the existing rail line
- temporary towers and structures supporting the bridge were removed.
Thank you to commuters and nearby residents for your patience and support while crews worked to install the new bridge, which is set to become a local icon for the region.
Rail bridge construction gallery
What’s coming up
Major works continue through Kilmany and in the coming months, we’ll:
- carry out a series of staged traffic switches where traffic will be moved onto newly built sections of the highway
- reopen Sale-Toongabbie Road at the Princes Highway and continue works to the widened highway.
While we move barriers on the Princes Highway there will be additional traffic management, lane closure and delays. Please follow all on road signage and direction from traffic controllers.
Works in Flynn and East Kilmany complete
With major works now complete through Flynn and Kilmany East, crews will now shift to complete minor finishing works including landscaping and line marking.
Lanes are now open along the Princes Freeway between:
- Sheepwash Creek Road and the west of Flynns Creek Road
- Velore Road in Kilmany to east of Templetons Road.
Thank you for your patience while we completed these sections of the Princes Highway East upgrade.
Bus turnaround
As part of the project, we’ve relocated the school bus stop in Kilmany to a safer location next to the Kilmany Town Hall. To accommodate this new bus stop, we’ve constructed a new bus turnaround area which includes an upgraded bus shelter and fencing.
Once the team finalise signage for the area, the bus turnaround will be operational, and access will be available for school buses.
Environmentally sensitive design
We understand and share the value on local flora and fauna by the community. With all major projects, we sensitively balance our impact on the environment with the need to improve road safety and journey reliability.
Our team of experts are exploring all possibilities to retain as many trees as we can. Our aim is to minimise our impact on local vegetation. We’re doing this by:
- only working in areas required for the project
- only removing vegetation where it is unavoidable
- fencing off vegetation to be protected as ‘no-go zones’ performing on-site inspections to ensure any trees and vegetation
- that need to be removed are first inspected by a qualified environmental specialist to determine if there are any animals or other features that may have specific requirements
- pruning trees to prevent impact from construction activities using qualified arborists
- working with local councils and local groups to re-use and collect seeds for future propagation.
Native vegetation that cannot be retained will be offset at a 30-hectare roadside vegetation offset site between Sheepwash Creek, Traralgon East, and Flynns Creek Road along the south side of the Princes Highway and a 140-hectare site in Bengworden. The Department of Transport and Planning (DTP) is the custodian of this site.