The Victorian Government is fast-tracking the removal of the Gap Road level crossing along the Sunbury Line years ahead of its initial schedule with the announcement of a preferred design that will help preserve heritage buildings and ease traffic around the Sunbury community.
The preferred design will have the Gap Road/Station Street lowered under the rail line, preserving the character of the heritage-listed Sunbury Station. A road-under-rail design will also help improve safety and bust congestion once more trains run on the Sunbury Line in the future.
“This notorious level crossing has been leaving Sunbury residents stranded in traffic for too long – these works will deliver better journeys across the local community.
“Our Big Build program is vital to Victoria’s rebuild – supporting thousands of jobs and building the projects we need,” Minister for Transport Infrastructure Jacinta Allan said.
Planning work is currently underway with the project team seeking feedback from the local community regarding plans for the removal of the Gap Road level crossing. Feedback could include ideas on project design, landscaping as well as what the locals want to see in their surrounding area.
With up to 19,000 vehicles passing through the Gap Road level crossing each day, it causes delays and traffic congestion on one of Sunbury’s busiest roads. The number of vehicles using the level crossing is also expected to reach 27,000 in 2026 along with the population growth in Sunbury.
The Gap Road level crossing removal is going to be delivered together with the $2.1 billion Sunbury Line Upgrade, in a partnership between Rail Projects Victoria and the Level Crossing Removal Project.
The level crossing at Gap Road is going to be the fourth to be removed along the Sunbury Line and it is one of the 75 congested and dangerous level crossings to be permanently gone by 2025 across Melbourne.
Both the level crossing removal and Sunbury Line Upgrade will include new infrastructure for the local community, including a new shared path that can safely connect pedestrians and cyclists to both side of Sunbury.
“We’re delivering both of these important transport projects together to reduce disruption to our community and get better outcomes for rail passengers, road users and residents faster,” Member for Sunbury Josh Bull said.
In addition, works on Sunbury Station – as part of the Sunbury Line Upgrade – will include platform extensions, train stabling modifications as well as rail track and power upgrades to enable bigger, more modern trains to run on the line. This will create space for an additional 113,000 passengers during peak hours each week once the Metro Tunnel is operational.
Commuters will also benefit from the Car Parks for Commuters program where the State Government and Hume City Council will be delivering additional car spaces to station precincts to improve access and boost bike parking capacity.
Locals can now have their say on the Gap Road level crossing removal project, with feedback submissions closing on 29 November 2020. For more information, you can visit Engage Victoria’s Gap Road project page here.
Construction on the Gap Road project is set to begin next year, with the level crossing gone by late 2022 and remaining works completed by 2023 – two years ahead of the scheduled completion in 2025.
Source: Premier of Victoria – Media centre; Level Crossing Removal Project; Rail Projects Victoria; Victoria’s Big Build