Victoria’s rail and road projects set to go into overdrive over summer

A huge summer road and rail project blitz may help crews catch up from COVID-19 closures, but major disruptions are expected frustrate commuters.

A massive summer blitz of road and rail projects will help construction crews catch up from COVID-19 closures but major disruptions are expected frustrate commuters throughout.

A swath of major projects across the state will continue to gather pace under a significant program of works running until the end of February.

It comes as new figures show traffic volumes returned to just below pre-pandemic levels over the holiday period.

Spring and summer are among the best time for construction projects because of sunnier conditions that create less challenges for road surfacing and other works.

While the west will be smashed by disruptions, commuters in the southeast, north, and regional areas will also face frequent road and rail blocks.

Lane closures will be a common site on the Monash Freeway between Warrigal Road and EastLink until late January, due to road resurfacing.

Buses will replace trains along a section of the Craigieburn line from January 8 to 16 and between Dandenong and Cranbourne January 17 to 21.

Major disruptions are expected on the Frankston, Cranbourne and Pakenham lines in the lead-up to Australia Day due to signalling works.

Level crossing works in Melbourne’s north will also disrupt journeys into the CBD from Seymour and Shepparton.

From January 3 to 16, buses will replace route 48 trams between Parliament Station and Barkers Rd and route 75 services between Russell St and Riversdale Junction.

Metro Tunnel works will again shut down much of the Sunbury line at the end of summer, with buses running between North Melbourne and the end of the line from February 26 to March 8.

“We encourage Victorians to allow plenty of time for their journeys over the holiday period and be patient on the roads,” a Department of Transport spokesman said.

New figures show there were about 9.6 million vehicle trips on Victorian roads on Monday 21 December.

This massive uptick represented about 96 per cent of the traffic volume recorded before coronavirus was detected in Australia.

Public transport is also receiving a resurgence and the department recorded 730,000 Myki taps on the same day.

City of Melbourne sensors also showed promising signs for CBD traders desperate for more foot traffic.

More than 331,000 were counted in the heart of the city, about 69 per cent of normal pedestrian levels.