Construction is set to commence this year to remove the congested and dangerous level crossings at Manchester Road in Mooroolbark and Maroondah Highway in Lilydale, Victoria.
At the end of December 2019, it was announced that the alliance between Laing O’Rourke, Jacobs and Metro Trains Melbourne (MTM) was awarded a $496 million contract to undertake the removal of the level crossings.
Detailed design is now underway to incorporate community feedback to the final concept designs for the level crossing removal project.
Initial concept designs to remove the two level crossings include the construction of a rail bridge over Manchester Road and Maroondah Highway.
This project will also include the construction of two new elevated stations at Lilydale and Mooroolbark as well as a new multi-deck carpark at Mooroolbark that will have up to 450 new and upgraded spaces.
Major construction is anticipated to begin in mid-2020, with the level crossing permanently gone by 2022.
The removal of the level crossings will provide relief to the more than 53,000 vehicles passing through the crossings each day where, currently, the boom gates are down for about a quarter of the morning peak.
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Source: Level Crossing Removal Project (1, 2, 3, 4); Infrastructure Magazine; Inside Construction
