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Peninsula Link to create jobs sooner
 The Victorian Government has called for expressions of interest for the Peninsula Link. The toll-free road will link Melbourne's south-eastern suburbs and the Mornington Peninsula.
The work will provide 4,000 direct jobs and significant economic stimulus for the state and national economy.
Expressions of interest opened on Tuesday 31 March so that work can start by the end of the year.
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Footscray Road level crossing removed
 The notorious freight level crossing on Footscray Road was removed on Sunday 22 March. This is a major milestone for the Dynon Port Rail Link project. With work now complete on the two new rail lines into the Port of Melbourne under the newly-constructed Footscray Road overpass, freight trains will no longer cross Footscray Road to access the Port.
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New strategy steers future of cycling
 A new strategy to encourage more people to get on their bike has been launched.
A key feature of the $115 million Victorian Cycling Strategy will be to integrate new and existing cycling infrastructure into the transport network.
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Deer Park Bypass to open early
 The Deer Park Bypass in Melbourne’s west is due to open in April, more than eight months ahead of schedule.
The $331 million freeway link will provide a 9.3km freeway link from Ring Road at Sunshine West to the Western Highway at Caroline Springs.
The Highway is the key interstate road link between Melbourne and Adelaide and at Deer Park carries over 70,000 vehicles per day.
Drivers will be able to avoid 20 intersections and six sets of traffic lights along the Western Highway, cutting travel times by up to 15 minutes.
The new route will save travel times and costs for the road freight industry and its customers and will help support jobs and growth in Melbourne’s west, to Ballarat and beyond.
During peak construction, 600 people have been employed on the project which is jointly funded by the Victorian and Australian Governments.
See the project: Deer Park Bypass
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Laverton Rail Upgrade to add services
 Work has started on a major rail project which will add extra services on the busy Werribee line. The $92.6 million project will also improve reliability for V/Line services.
Work on the Laverton Rail Upgrade project started in March and will be done by John Holland. The contract will employ at least 50 workers on the project.
The Laverton Rail Upgrade will help untangle a bottleneck on the metropolitan train line and give capacity to add more services where they are needed most.
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Footscray Station will get a new footbridge
 Footscray Station is about to receive a new footbridge as part of the $52.1 million Footscray Renewal Program.
The new bridge will improve access between the station’s four platforms for the 12,000 people who use the station daily. Part of the works includes lifts to give better access to disabled and elderly passengers.
A contract for the detailed design and construction of the footbridge has been awarded to Leighton Contractors. Some 40 full-time jobs will be created during the construction phase.
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Plan goes to the people
 More than 100 people attended a community information session about the Victorian Transport Plan this month. It gave an opportunity for people in Melbourne's west to find out more about the VTP and the projects planned for the area.
A number of stands were set up with information about the West Gate Bridge Alternative, Truck Action Plan, Regional Rail Link and Metro Rail tunnel and were staffed by representatives from DOT, VicRoads and SEITA.
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More new trains on the way
 An extra 20 new trains are on their way to Melbourne. The Victorian Government has boosted its existing order of 18 new trains to 38.
The 38 new X’Trapolis trains will provide extra capacity for more than 30,000 passengers in peak periods.
Along with infrastructure projects outlined in the Victorian Transport Plan, such as new stations, track extensions, Regional Rail Link and Melbourne Metro rail tunnel, the trains will greatly boost the number of services on our network.
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285,000 sleepers laid on new rail line
 Nearly all 285,000 new concrete sleepers have been laid on rail line between Melbourne and Sydney. The work is part of the $612.8 million North East Rail Revitalisation project.
When complete, about 200 kilometres of track between Seymour and Wodonga will be converted to standard gauge. A new dual-track rail bypass around Wodonga will also be built.
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Ring road overhaul
 Early work has started to upgrade the Western and Metropolitan Ring Roads (M80) as part of a $2.25 billion project.
In December, the first sod was turned for construction of an extra lane southbound from the Deer Park Bypass interchange to Boundary Road, Sunshine West.
This early work will be completed to coincide with the opening of the Deer Park Bypass.
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New rail bridge fixes old bottleneck
 Passengers on the Epping and Hurstbridge lines now benefit from a new rail bridge over Merri Creek. The bridge and new section of track means a major bottleneck in Melbourne’s train network has now been fixed.
The work has helped improve the reliability and punctuality of trains on the Epping and Hurstbridge lines. The $52 million project benefits about 60,000 passengers each weekday.
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North Melbourne station upgrade
 All of North Melbourne Station’s platforms are now undercover. New platform canopies were completed last year and builders worked overnight to reduce disruption to passengers. The canopies are part of the station’s $39 million upgrade.
Escalators have now been installed and lifts will start operating soon. The new concourse is due to open this year and the new station building is due to be completed in 2010.
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M1 upgrade drives on
 The first fully-completed section of the $1.39 billion upgrade of the Monash-CityLink-West Gate (M1) corridor has opened to traffic.
All eight lanes of the 3.5 kilometre inbound and outbound roads between Forster Road and Warrigal Road have been resurfaced with new line markings, giving motorists the first taste of how the new M1 will operate.
The section of the Monash Freeway was completed ahead of schedule.
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