By Marcus Uhe
Around the clock work on the level crossing removal at Clyde Road in Berwick will commence in January, seeing the closure of the road in both directions between the level crossing and the intersection at Langmore Lane and Mansfield Street.
Level Crossing Removal Project staff will work 24 hours a day from midnight Monday 10 January to 11.59pm Sunday 20 February, to remove the level crossing and boomgates, install a new rail bridge and signalling equipment, create a new road surface and build shared use paths.
Along with the closure of Clyde Road in that specified area for five weeks, local business and property owners have been told to anticipate reduced speed limits, increased travel times, heavy vehicle activity and construction traffic, noise, dust and changes to public transport services.
Drivers are encouraged to avoid the area by accessing the Princes Freeway instead.
Other roads impacted by the work include Reserve Street, which will be closed at Clyde Road, and Jane Street, which will close between Clyde Road and Evans Street.
Enterprise Avenue will remain open at all times but will be subjected to changed traffic conditions.
Buses will replace trains at stages on the Pakenham line, resulting in the closure of up to 280 car spaces in the northern car park at Berwick Station.
Bus stops at Clyde Road northbound outside Berwick Healthcare, and both east and westbound at Reserve Street will be closed during this period, with buses instead operating from the existing northern bus interchange at Berwick Station and a temporary bus stop on Kangan Drive outside the Chisholm Institute.
Pedestrian access across the Clyde Road level crossing between Enterprise Avenue and Reserve Street, and to Berwick Station via Clyde Road, will be closed.
Traffic controllers will be on location to assists pedestrians and motorists navigate the area safely.
The work is part of the Victorian Government’s commitment to remove 22 level crossings to make the Pakenham line level-crossing free by 2025.
For more information on the disruptions visit levelcrossings.vic.gov.au/disruptions
