The first designs for the removal of the deadly Ferguson Street level crossing at Williamstown have been revealed.
After an extensive community consultation, site investigations and engineering assessments, the dangerous and congested Ferguson Street level crossing will be removed by lowering the rail line beneath the road, the Victorian Government said in a statement released today.
The Ferguson Street level crossing has a tragic safety record, being the scene of a double fatality in the 1990s and five near-miss incidents in the past decade. More than 110 trains travel through the crossing each weekday, causing frustration and delays for 25,000 motorists who use the crossing each day.
“There has been strong community support for a rail under road design throughout consultation, with more than 800 submissions during two rounds of community engagement in November and March,” the Government said.
The project will include a new North Williamstown Station with lowered platforms, plaza areas and landscaping. The project team is now calling for feedback on the look and feel of the new station precinct, how spaces around the new station can be improved, landscaping options, design themes, fencing preferences and ideas for public art, it said.
Construction at Ferguson Street will begin in early 2021 and the level crossing will be removed in 2022.
