By Jamie Salter
The Clyde Road level crossing is officially gone for good in Berwick – reducing congestion as motorists travel underneath the new rail bridge and marking the 58th level crossing removed by the Victorian Government.
About 22,000 vehicles travelled through the level crossing each day, with the boom gates down for around a third of the two-hour morning peak – delaying people travelling to and from the Princes and Monash freeways.
Level Crossing Removal Project (LXRP) senior project manager Simeon Green said the official opening on Monday 21 February was a long time coming.
“We had community interest very early this morning with locals coming to have a look, so I think the fact that there’s been so much interest from the community reflects the impact it’s going to have,” Mr Green said.
“We’re in a health and education precinct, so not having boom gates has a massive impact on their travel times and then for the locals with schools in the area.
“It looks like there’s less traffic on Clyde Road and maybe that’s because people aren’t queuing at the boom gates.”
LXRP program director Andrew Pepplinkhouse said it was great to see hard work pay off.
“This has always been one of our biggest removals because of the amount of traffic that comes through here everyday, so to see it today operating so smoothly with no boom gates coming down is fantastic,” Mr Pepplinkhouse said.
“It was a lot of work to be done in six weeks, and I’ve never seen that many compliments come through from the community in terms of the way they’ve gone about it.”
The new Berwick Station bus interchange is expected to be completed towards the end of 2022 and the multilevel car park is expected to be opened in early 2023.
Narre Warren South Member Gary Maas has been visiting the construction site over the past couple of years and said there was a feeling of joy to see its completion.
“There’s more than 10,000 cars that go through here each day and for 30 per cent of the time the boom gates would be down but that’s not the case anymore, you’ve got this free flow of traffic,” Mr Maas said.
“Ultimately, locals are going to be spending more time doing the things they want to be doing, whether that’s getting to work on time or spending more time with loved ones, rather than sitting at a boom gate.
‘I’d like to thank the community for their patience because it’s been a gnarly time, particularly over the last couple of months.”
Transport Infrastructure Minister Jacinta Allan said a promise has been kept with the removal of the level crossing.
“Today, the Berwick community will benefit from never being stuck at the level crossing again – with improved travel times and safer journeys as they travel throughout the area.”
More than 37,000 trees, plants and shrubs will also be planted as part of the project, including oak trees to provide shade and wind protection.
The Clyde Road level crossing is the 12th to be removed along the Pakenham line, with 10 more to go to make it boom-gate free by 2025.
