William Scott
The Victorian Government has awarded a contract to build the new Dandenong underpass and remove the Webster Street level crossing.
With the boom gates set to be removed in late 2025, it’s not long before the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines are level crossing free.
Final designs for the project reveal the new underpass that will reroute vehicles beneath the rail line, taking traffic away from the Dandenong CBD and getting heavy vehicles off Webster Street.
Works will soon get underway on the new road underpass connecting Princes Highway-Lonsdale Street to Cheltenham and Hammond roads.
Extensive engineering assessments found that the new rail bridge structure can be built before excavating the underpass, with the road now slated to open in 2026 – two years ahead of schedule.
A contract has been awarded to an alliance comprising John Holland Group, Kellogg Brown and Root, Metro Trains Melbourne and the Level Crossing Removal Project to build the new underpass and remove the level crossing.
The project also includes a new pedestrian and cycling underpass beneath the existing Dandenong Creek rail bridge connecting to the Dandenong Creek Trail – providing safer and faster access across the rail line.
A new signalised intersection will also be built at the Princes Highway-Lonsdale Street, creating safer traffic flow for all vehicles.
The Webster Street level crossing is one of the most dangerous in Melbourne, with 22 near misses recorded since 2012. Boom gates are down for 62 minutes during the morning peak, causing traffic chaos for drivers in the heart of Dandenong.
Removing eight level crossings in the Greater Dandenong area will save around six hours of boom gate down time each morning, directly benefiting businesses in this busy industrial area – this will also coincide with the opening of the Metro Tunnel project, allowing more services to run on the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines.
Victorian Minister for Transport Infrastructure, Danny Pearson, said, “We are removing every level crossing on the Pakenham and Cranbourne lines, easing congestion and improving safety on local roads throughout the booming southeastern suburbs.”
“The Webster Street level crossings will be the last to go on the Pakenham Line, and this project, together with the Metro Tunnel, will change the way people live, work and travel.”
State Member for Dandenong, Gabrielle Williams, said, “Removing the Webster Street level crossing and building a new east-west road connection two years earlier than planned will help take trucks out of the Dandenong CBD.”
