After winning the 2014 state election, Victoria’s Andrews Labor government established the Level Crossing Removal Authority, charged with the task of removing 50 dangerous and congested level crossings across Melbourne.
The Victorian Government allocated AU$2.4 billion in its 2015-16 budget to remove at least 20 level crossings by 2018. These sites form the basis of a long-term strategic plan to remove all 50 level crossings by 2022.
Early planning and engineering assessments are being undertaken for all the level crossing sites that will be removed. Construction has already commenced on several sites, and planning and early consultation are underway for the delivery of the entire project.
Removing the crossings will:
- Deliver significant safety improvements for drivers and pedestrians
- Improve travel around Melbourne – for train users, pedestrians, cyclists and drivers
- Get people home safer and faster
- Make Melbourne’s roads more reliable, enabling people to better predict their travel times
- Stimulate economic growth by creating thousands of jobs during construction
- Revitalise local communities, with many areas benefiting from station rebuilds
- Enable more trains to run more often and on time.
Opportunities for the trenchless community
The significant volume of construction work being generated as a result of this program will have major flow-on effects for the trenchless industry, with a range of essential services needing to be relocated – including water mains, sewers, gas pipes, and electrical and telecommunications cables.
However according to Stuart Harrison, Owner and Managing Director of microtunnelling contracting company Edge Underground, the delicate nature of the works and strict requirements from VicTrack regarding asset installation under existing tracks means that only a handful of contractors are capable of fulfilling the brief.
“VicTrack’s regulations relate to construction and boring under existing tracks,” explained Stuart. “There are strict regulations in place that stipulate any underground installation technique must core a hole that must be filled at all times – eliminating any potential for the bored hole to collapse.
“The method for under level crossing needs to be a jacked installation, meaning the pipe must be simultaneous jacked into the bore as the bore hole is created, eliminating the possibility of ground collapse.
“Further to this, the annular space allowed between the bored hole and the pipe inserted into it is quite rigid. The reality is, there are only a small number of trenchless installation contractors capable of meeting these requirements.”
According to Mr Harrison, Edge Underground is one of the few installation contractors capable of installing pipe within the strict tolerances as stipulated by VicTrack.
Utilising the Vermeer AXIS guided boring machine and jacking pipe allows Edge Underground to provide a trenchless installation service that meets the requirements of a constantly filled borehole and minimal annular space.
Edge Underground has significant experience in boring under rail lines, having most recently been involved in the AU$13 million Warragul Trunk Sewer Upgrade, which involved microtunnelling under sections of rail. Edge Underground worked closely with the head contractor to ensure all VicTrack regulations were adhered to. The overall project was completed earlier this year on time and on budget.
“The VicTrack construction requirements ensure the integrity of rail lines is maintained while construction and installation works are carried out underneath,” noted Mr Harrison.
Major construction projects as part of the level crossing removal program will take place throughout 2016, with new crossings to be progressively opened from late-2016 onwards.