Preston level crossing removal project will see six homes acquired for new rail bridge
Residents were only told yesterday that their homes would be acquired by the Victorian government who are planning to straighten out the “Devil’s Bend” near Bell station in Preston and build a massive new sky rail bridge.
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Six homes are being compulsorily acquired by the state government to build a massive new sky rail bridge through Melbourne’s north.
The homeowners were told last night that their properties would be bought and demolished to straighten the Mernda line near Bell station in Preston.
Level Crossing Removal Authority chief Kevin Devlin said that section of the line, known as the “Devil’s Bend”, was a major bottleneck and meant trains had to run at restricted speeds.
Transport Infrastructure Minister Jacinta Allan said the project — which will see four level crossings removed with a 2km rail bridge — was the best chance to straight the track through the narrow suburban section.
“Compulsory acquisition is never an easy time for those property owners and we’ll work carefully and respectfully with each individual,” she said this morning.
A voluntary purchase scheme will also be available to other households affected by the project who want to sell their properties.
Premier Daniel Andrews said the Bell St crossing was the busiest road across the government’s entire program to remove 75 crossings across the city, used by 52,000 vehicles every day.
The boom gates are down for as much as 40 per cent of the morning peak hour at Bell St, Cramer St, Murray Rd and Oakover Rd.
Ms Allan said there had been 27 near misses in recent years at the crossings as well.
With the Epping maintenance depot attached to the line, servicing about half of Melbourne’s train fleet, Mr Andrews said the rail bridge design was the best way to keep the network operating during construction.
New stations will also be built at Bell at Preston.
Vickie Laious, 94, is one of the affected home owners.
She has lived in the home for almost 20 years and it had sentinmental value because it was the last home she and her husband lived in together.
“I don’t want to move,” she told the Herald Sun.
She loved the area because it had everything she needed close by.
The exact timeline of when she needed to be out by - and what the government was offering - was unclear.
And the visit yesterday by officials who delivered the bad news came as a huge shock.
“I wasn’t expecting that, I hadn’t heard before they would want my home.”
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Work will start early next year and is expected to be completed by the 2022 state election, and the Premier said the line would not be closed for any longer than a week during that period.
Mr Andrews said there would be further community consultation about how to use the new open space created by the project, with those areas to be finished for locals by 2023.
“This project will deliver new stations, faster services and less congestion on local streets – as well as new, green open space for the community,” he said.
Mr Andrews refused to detail the exact cost for the project.