- Published:
- Tuesday 13 February 2018
More than 60 trainees, apprentices and cadets are helping to remove two dangerous level crossings, build a brand new Rosanna station and duplicate a vital section of the Hurstbridge line six months ahead of schedule.
Minister for Industry and Employment Ben Carroll and Member for Ivanhoe Anthony Carbines inspected progress at the site of the new Rosanna Station, where preparation works are taking place ahead of a massive 44-day construction blitz.
From March 16, up to 1,000 people will be working around the clock for a month and a half to remove dangerous and congested level crossings at Grange Road in Alphington and Lower Plenty Road in Rosanna.
During the blitz, workers will continue duplicating 1.2 kilometres of rail line in Heidelberg and building a new Rosanna Station.
Crews will work together to tackle the mammoth task of building the new station, excavating the equivalent of 10 Olympic swimming pools-worth of soil from under Grange Road in Alphington, building a new rail bridge over Lower Plenty Road in Rosanna and duplicating a section of track on the Hurstbridge line.
Trainees, apprentices and cadets will gain experience in everything from civil engineering and construction, electrical, safety, human resources, site administration, communications and accounts.
Buses will replace trains on the Hurstbridge line from 16 March to the last service on 29 April, and Grange Road and Lower Plenty Road will be closed for 21 days and 16 days, respectively, to enable crews to get the job done sooner.
By 30 April, the new Rosanna Station will be open to commuters, and trains and cars will be safely separated for the very first time at Lower Plenty Road in Rosanna and Grange Road in Alphington, with the dangerous level crossings gone for good.
The Labor Government’s Major Projects Skills Guarantee requires contractors on public projects valued at more than $20 million to use apprentices, trainees or cadets for at least 10 per cent of a project’s total labour hours.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Industry and Employment Ben Carroll
“We have 60 apprentices and trainees on deck, ready to go, ahead of the 44-day construction blitz that will upgrade the Hurstbridge line and make communities in Melbourne’s north east safer, sooner.”
“We’re not just removing level crossings, duplicating track and building a new station – we’re helping young Victorians get the skills they need for life.”
Quote attributable to Member for Ivanhoe Anthony Carbines
“We promised the community that we would get rid of the notorious Rosanna level crossing and improve services on the Hurstbridge line – and we’re not wasting a second getting it done.”