Tara Murray
A big dig is underway at Robinsons Road, Deer Park as part of major works to remove the level crossing by building a road underpass.
The dig is part of major works to excavate under the rail line to build the new road underpass and excavation is set to be completed in early 2022.
Crews have so far removed 29,000 cubic metres of rock, soil and dirt through earthworks, with a total of 42,000 cubic metres to be removed once the project is complete – equivalent to 17 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
Once removed, dirt is carted offsite to a recycling facility in Sunshine, where rock is processed for reuse in pavement and other civil construction works.
Crews have been using 50 and 80-tonne excavators to dig out the soil and rock.
The project team is installing soil nail anchors to stabilise the ground to assist with the earth works. There will be approximately 590 soil nails installed on the project. These help retain the structure of the soil and hold it firmly in place after excavation.
The project also begins excavation for the new pump station in February. This assists with removing water collected in the road drainage once the project is complete.
pump station will be 13 metres below the current road level.
A new shared use path is also starting to take shape.
To minimise impacts to the community, crews have installed dust, noise and vibration monitors around the work site to measure air quality, sound and vibration at regular intervals.
The project has been fast tracked for completion by 2023.
Level Crossing Removal Program director Andrew Pepplinkhouse said the big dig to prepare for the Robinsons Road level crossing removal is a major step in its program of
works.
“We’ve made substantial progress on the earthworks program and we can’t wait to share the finished product with the community once the level crossing is removed in 2023.”
