Getting Rid Of Gippsland Highway Level Crossing
01 April 2019
The Andrews Labor Government is
improving safety and the movement of vehicles in the manufacturing heart
of
Victoria by removing the
level crossing on South Gippsland Highway
in Dandenong and building a new intersection where it meets the
Princes
Highway.
This dangerous and congested level crossing impedes the flow of 31,000
cars and trucks each weekday, and was the site of four collisions and
more than 40 near misses in the decade to 2015.
Nearby at the intersection of the South Gippsland Highway and the
Princes Highway there were four incidents resulting in serious injury
and one fatal incident during the past ten years.
About 40 per cent of Victoria’s manufacturing happens in
Melbourne’s south east. It supports more than 92,000 local
jobs and
contributes $12 billion to the region’s economy.
With the boom gates down for a third of the two-hour morning peak, it is
critical to improve the flow of traffic on the South Gippsland Highway,
and on and off the Princes Highway.
The road
bridge design will minimise closures of the Pakenham line
during construction, and reduce impacts on manufacturers and the
transport and freight industry – with other designs taking up to a year
longer to construct.
The new intersection at the Princes Highway and the South Gippsland
Highway will be safer for cyclists, pedestrians and drivers, who will no
longer merge into fast flowing traffic.
Removing the level crossing will allow more train services to run in the
future and improve access to facilities and services either side of the
rail line. The design features a new shared path that will benefit
pedestrians and cyclists.
The project will create hundreds of jobs during construction as well as
providing skills and opportunities to apprentices, trainees or cadets
through the Major Projects Skills Guarantee.
The Andrews Labor Government is removing 75 level crossings by 2025,
with 29 already gone for good. The South Gippsland Highway level
crossing is one of 17 being removed on the Pakenham line.
Work to remove the South Gippsland Highway level crossing will start in
2020 and level crossing will be gone by 2022.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Transport Infrastructure
Jacinta Allan
“Removing the level crossing and building a new intersection will
improve safety and the flow of traffic on the South Gippsland Highway,
and on and off the Princes Highway.”
“This project will save local transport operators and business in the
manufacturing heartland of Victoria time and money – and we’re getting
on with it.”
Quote attributable to Member for Dandenong Gabrielle Williams
“This dangerous and congested level crossing needs to go – it will
improve traffic flow for workers who move in and out of the industrial
precinct every day and improve safety.”
--ENDS--
Source: Victorian Government - www.premier.vic.gov.au
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