A nine day construction blitz has started as the Laing O’Rourke, Jacobs and Metro (MTM) Alliance are on track to remove the Toorak Road level crossing.

To ensure the build continues and jobs are secure for more than 15,000 workers, strict protocols are in place followed by the latest advice from the Chief Health Officer. For the project to continue, the health and safety of all construction workers and the community is at the forefront.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, strict practices such as maintaining social distancing are in order. For workers who need to work in close proximity to one another, this has been reduced to shorter periods of times. On top of this, there are also detailed industrial cleaning and hygiene practices in place.

Crews will continuously work through all hours of the day and night to remove the boom gates on Toorak Road, install new tracks, ballast, overhead wiring, complete signaling works and connect the new rail bridge to the Glen Waverley Line.

Finishing works and landscaping are on track to be completed in 2021 with more than 23,000 trees, plants and grasses in place.

Once these works are complete, trains will begin using the new rail bridge, offering free flowing traffic underneath.

The Victorian Government aims to remove 75 level crossings by 2025, 34 of 75 have already been removed.