West Gate Freeway Archives - Waking up in Geelong https://wongm.com/tag/west-gate-freeway/ Marcus Wong. Gunzel. Engineering geek. History nerd. Mon, 09 Dec 2024 12:11:33 +0000 en-AU hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 23299142 Then and now along the West Gate Freeway https://wongm.com/2024/12/then-and-now-building-west-gate-bridge-melbourne/ https://wongm.com/2024/12/then-and-now-building-west-gate-bridge-melbourne/#comments Mon, 09 Dec 2024 20:30:00 +0000 https://wongm.com/?p=20695 Today we’re taking a ‘then and now’ tour over the West Gate Bridge. PROV image via West Gate Tunnel Project Approaching the Lower Yarra Freeway We start on the Prices Highway way back in 1969, one mile away from the junction with what was then called the ‘Lower Yarra Freeway’. VicRoads photo, via West Gate […]

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Today we’re taking a ‘then and now’ tour over the West Gate Bridge.


PROV image via West Gate Tunnel Project

Approaching the Lower Yarra Freeway

We start on the Prices Highway way back in 1969, one mile away from the junction with what was then called the ‘Lower Yarra Freeway’.


VicRoads photo, via West Gate Tunnel Project

And the view today – the ‘Lower Yarra Freeway’ is now called the West Gate Freeway, the Princes Highway via Footscray is now the secondary route, the two lanes have doubled to four, and the Western Ring Road has been added to the junction.

And the changes can also be seen at the freeway junction itself.


VicRoads photo, via West Gate Tunnel Project

Dohertys Road over the freeway having been duplicated in 2021, with more lanes underneath to come as part of the West Gate Tunnel Project.


Google Street View

On to Williamstown Road

We now move onto this 1970 view from the West Gate Freeway at Williamstown Road – an ‘End Freeway’ sign attached to the footbridge – the West Gate Bridge having collapsed during construction on 15 October 1970, with the death of 35 workers.


VicRoads photo, via West Gate Tunnel Project

And the view today with a completed bridge, and changes thanks to the West Gate Tunnel Project – tall concrete noise walls, the Woduyullul Parring footbridge completed in 2020 to replace the previous open air footbridge; and small footprint steel monopole towers that replaced the traditional lattice towers supporting the 220 kV transmission lines.


Google Street View

Onto the bridge

No traffic in this view of the West Gate Bridge before it was officially opened.


VicRoads photo, via West Gate Tunnel Project

But the main difference today – the suicide barriers hurried erected in 2010 after years of the government refusing to do so.


Google Street View

Check out the view!

And here is the view from the top, looking over to the Melbourne CBD.


VicRoads photo, via West Gate Tunnel Project

With 40 years of development filling out the skyline.


Google Street View

And down below

Headed through Port Melbourne

We start off at Graham Street interchange in Port Melbourne, with this 1983 view looking west towards the West Gate Bridge.


VicRoads photo, via West Gate Tunnel Project

And the view today – the trees are taller and the ‘UFO’ lights are gone, and more importantly, Graham Street doesn’t traverse the bridge anymore. Instead the bridge forms the connection between the Bolte Bridge and the West Gate Freeway, with the Graham Street severed in 1997 so that construction of the CityLink project could proceed.


Google Street View

And over South Melbourne

Now we are in 1987, and it is opening day of the first stage of the elevated West Gate Freeway extension through South Melbourne to St Kilda Road.


VicRoads photo, via West Gate Tunnel Project

While the view today shows the connection through to CityLink completed in 2000, and additional lanes added in 2011 as part of the Monash–CityLink–West Gate Upgrade project.


Google Street View

Footnote: a bonus bridge

And here’s a 1971 photo of workers having a smoko beneath the Grieve Parade overpass.


VicRoads photo, via West Gate Tunnel Project

In 1991 the original bridge was widened as part of the duplication of Grieve Parade – the original two lane span being joined by another four lane bridge to the west side.


Google Street View

But the heavier trucks of today were too much for the original bridge to handle, and so in January 2021 the spans were demolished as part of the West Gate Tunnel project.


Google Street View

The eastern half rebuilt with stronger concrete super-T beams, and the earthen embankments cut back to fit more traffic lanes beneath.


Google Street View

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How to close a freeway https://wongm.com/2023/09/west-gate-freeway-closure-billboard-construction/ https://wongm.com/2023/09/west-gate-freeway-closure-billboard-construction/#comments Mon, 11 Sep 2023 21:30:00 +0000 https://wongm.com/?p=21455 Normally a major freeway is full of cars, even in the dead of night. So seeing the West Gate Freeway completely empty was an unusual sight – so how was it achieved? First step – block the freeway. With a Truck Mounted Attenuator (TMA) Truck parked on each lane. Their variable message signs directing motorists […]

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Normally a major freeway is full of cars, even in the dead of night. So seeing the West Gate Freeway completely empty was an unusual sight – so how was it achieved?

West Gate Freeway closed inbound at Ingles Street so a billboard over the West Gate Freeway can be removed

First step – block the freeway.

West Gate Freeway closed inbound at the Todd Road exit so a billboard over the West Gate Freeway at Ingles Street can be removed

With a Truck Mounted Attenuator (TMA) Truck parked on each lane.

West Gate Freeway closed inbound at the Todd Road exit so a billboard over the West Gate Freeway at Ingles Street can be removed

Their variable message signs directing motorists onto a detour via the adjacent Todd Road exit.

West Gate Freeway closed inbound at the Todd Road exit so a billboard over the West Gate Freeway at Ingles Street can be removed

And just to make sure the road was clear, two more traffic control trucks were parked beside the next exit along.

West Gate Freeway closed inbound at the CityLink internchange so a billboard over the West Gate Freeway at Ingles Street can be removed

The reason for the closure – a crane at work on the Ingles Street bridge over the West Gate Freeway.

Crane lifts away the billboard on the Ingles Street bridge over the West Gate Freeway at Port Melbourne

Workers were busy attacking an attached billboard with a gas axe.

Cutting away the billboard on the Ingles Street bridge over the West Gate Freeway at Port Melbourne

So a crane could lower it down to the ground.

Crane lifts away the billboard on the Ingles Street bridge over the West Gate Freeway at Port Melbourne

So it could be trucked away.

Crane lifts away the billboard on the Ingles Street bridge over the West Gate Freeway at Port Melbourne

Replacing the previous fixed billboard.

Fixed billboard on the Ingles Street bridge over the West Gate Freeway at Port Melbourne

With a steel frame.

Steel frame added to the Ingles Street overpass to hold a new digital billboard over the West Gate Freeway

So a new digital billboard could take it’s place.

Digital billboard in place on the Ingles Street overpass over the West Gate Freeway

Footnote on Truck Mounted Attenuators

VicRoads has a set of guidelines for the use of Truck Mounted Attenuators to protect work sites.

These Guidelines have been produced for the deployment of Truck Mounted Attenuator Trucks (TMAs) in Victoria to protect worksites on or beside active roads against errant vehicle intrusion. TMAs may be deployed to protect short to medium term maintenance or construction works where it is not practical to close the road or deploy temporary safety barriers for the protection of workers. They may be deployed as ‘barrier’ or ‘shadow’ vehicles depending on the static or mobile nature of the works.

A TMA is defined as a combination of Host Vehicle (Truck) and Impact Attenuator Unit, either mounted on the Host Vehicle or towed by the Host Vehicle to protect road workers. The Impact Attenuator Unit, also known as a crash cushion or crash attenuator, is a device intended to reduce the damage done to structures, vehicles and motorists resulting from a motor vehicle collision. Impact Attenuator units are designed to absorb the vehicles’ kinetic energy and/or redirect the vehicles away from the hazard, and from roadwork machinery or workers.

TMAs are required for the protection of works on or adjacent to all high speed roads. Their major application is for the protection of works on or adjacent to ‘M’ Classification Roads where they are mandatory. They are also applicable under the hierarchy of safety controls for the protection of works on all other roads where substantive speed limits are 80Km/h or more.

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Photos from ten years ago: August 2008 https://wongm.com/2018/08/photos-from-ten-years-ago-august-2008/ https://wongm.com/2018/08/photos-from-ten-years-ago-august-2008/#comments Mon, 27 Aug 2018 21:30:00 +0000 https://wongm.com/?p=10934 Another instalment in my photos from ten years ago series – this time it is August 2008, and it’s so big I’ve split it into three parts.

Looking back towards the city from beneath the western section of the movable roof

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Another instalment in my photos from ten years ago series – this time it is August 2008, and it’s so big I’ve split it into three parts.

Chasing trains

I drove out to Moorabool, west of Geelong to photograph a freight train. As soon as I stepped out of the car and locked the door I realised I’d left my keys inside – but thankfully I still had my camera, so I didn’t miss the shot.

NR1 leads AN11 on a westbound steel train at Moorabool

A blast from the past was this train operated by 707 Operations bound for Geelong.

R707 with T413 on the down at Little River

Steam locomotive R707 and diesel T413 hauled the train to Marshall and back, with a spin on the turntable at Geelong putting the steam engine facing the right way before the return leg to Melbourne.

N461 looks on as R707 gets turned at Geelong Loco

Another unusual train headed through Geelong was a Hitachi suburban set usually used in Melbourne, being hauled by Seymour Rail Heritage Centre’s freshly restored diesel locomotive T378 for refurbishment work at the Ballarat Workshops.

Departing Bannockburn

This Hitachi train was back in service by August 2009 but was put into storage a few years later, eventually being retired in 2015, and transferred to Bendigo for scrapping in May 2018.

Back in 2008 small rail freight operator El Zorro was running the container train to Warrnambool. If they left the Port of Melbourne too late they would lose their ‘slot’ on the single track beyond Geelong, and would get dumped in the siding at Lara station until a path was available.

All Steamrail locos with T395 leads S313 on the down El Zorro Warrnambool train in the loop at Lara

I was commuting from Geelong to Melbourne multiple days a week, so I’d keep my eye out at Lara for it – jumping off the train for a photo, then catching the next service on to Melbourne.

T395 and S313 in the loop at Lara as the up Warrnambool pass arrives

At Flinders Street Station one morning I stumbled upon this odd looking train.

EM100 changing ends at Flinders Street

It is track evaluation vehicle ‘EM100’ and traverses the network on a regular basis, with an array of sensors looking for track faults. It is still in service today, just renumbered ‘IEV100’ and with a snazzy looking Metro Trains Melbourne livery on it.

But somewhere way off my usual beat was the Montague Street bridge in South Melbourne.

Bridges that once carried the two tracks into the Montague Goods Sheds

Unlike today the bridge was quite anonymous, the feature catching my eye being that only two of the four bridges had tracks across them. Originally built to serve the Montague shipping shed, by late 2009 the tram tracks at Southbank Depot had been extended west over the bridge to stable the newly arrived ‘Bumblebee’ trams.

Railway upgrades

Work was continuing on the new concourse at North Melbourne station, as seen in previous posts in this series.

Cranes at work

While another structure being built over active railway lines was the ‘Media House’ development for The Age, located on the southern side of Collins Street, opposite Southern Cross Station.

Removing the tower crane now the rail decking is done

A massive crane was required to place the steel beams and concrete deck over the railway line.

Work continues on the eastern side

Which permitted more conventional methods of construction to be used for the office building on top.

A short distance away the Dynon Port Rail Link was also well underway, removing a bottleneck that blocked road traffic every time a train entered the Port of Melbourne.

Work on the Dynon Port Rail Link, looking east from the in-use Appleton Dock Road ramp

The network of flyovers replaced a single track level crossing on Footscray Road, allowing more trains to access the port.

Dynon Port Rail Link works from Enterprize Road, old Swanson Dock line in foreground, new Appleton Dock lines behind, then the new Enterprize Road ramp

As well as eliminating a seven track wide crossing inside the port itself.

Appleton Dock sidings from CityLink, the Enterprize Road level crossing cutting across them all

Another project aimed at improving rail freight was the Corio Independent Goods Line at the Port of Geelong.

New SG tracks

Work started in 2008 with the first train running in October the same year, but in the decade since is better described as a white elephant, with no new rail traffic being attracted to the port.

And the other bits

Down in Geelong work on the Geelong Ring Road was progressing, with the Lewis Bandt Bridge over the Moorabool River pretty much complete.

Sun hits the Lewis Bandt Bridge

While a short distance south work on the bridge over the Barwon River had started.

So that's where the Barwon River windmill is!

Another road project underway was the Monash-CityLink-West Gate Upgrade. No – not the current ‘upgrade’ adding a new lane to the M1 freeway, but the project a decade ago that added a new to the M1 freeway.

For Engineering Week I ended up atop the freeway viaduct through South Melbourne.

Inspecting the West Gate Freeway viaduct at Kings Way

Seeing how the new bridge spans were being tied into the existing viaduct.

Formwork underway for the new concrete tie-in

Allowing an extra road lane to be squeezed in.

Part of the widening of the West Gate Freeway viaduct

Over in Docklands things looked quite different, with Southern Cross Station still clearly visible from the top level of what was then called Telstra Dome.

Southern Cross from Telstra Dome

But plenty of construction was taking place, with heritage listed No. 2 Goods Shed being converted into offices.

Northern end of No. 2 goods shed, being converted into offices

Chopped in half in the early 2000s to make way for the extension of Collins Street into the new Docklands development, work was underway to plug up the gaps at either end, then restore the remaining structure.

No. 2 shed looking north from the Collins Street overpass, being converted into offices

But the best view of all was from up inside the roof of what was then called Telstra Dome.

Looking back towards the city from beneath the western section of the movable roof

My tour went for a walk through the roof trusses.

Looking down on the seats from the southern section of the overhead catwalk

Looking down on the grow lights on the playing surface.

Looking down on the seats from the overhead catwalk

And the rows of seats down below.

Looking down on the seats from the overhead catwalk

Footnote

Here you can find the rest of my ‘photos from ten years ago‘ series.

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