Cade Lucas
Having finally begun late last year, work on the long awaited Ison Road overpass in Werribee is about to get a whole lot bigger.
The first two of three 21m high piling rigs have arrived on site to help establish the bridge foundation, while earthworks are underway to raise ground levels for the overpass road.
In coming months, the third and biggest of the three rigs, weighing a whopping 124 tonnes, will arrive.
The massive machines will help crews build about 1000 steel-reinforced concrete piles up to 12 metres deep and nearly a metre in diameter.
The piling works began on January 17 and are slated for completion in June.
Earthworks are also underway and will continue throughout 2024, with trucks delivering 200,000 cubic metres of fill material – enough to fill 80 Olympic-size swimming pools – to the site.
Major Road Projects Victoria Acting Program Director Damian Van Dyke said it was pleasing to see the project finally taking shape.
“The overpass will provide an easier alternative for motorists in Wyndham West to get to the Princes Freeway, which will help make the centre of Werribee safer and less congested,” he said.
“We thank the community for its patience as we work with construction partner Decmil to deliver this important project.”
Infrastructure firm Decimil was awarded the $78 million contract to build the overpass in December last year.
Decmil Executive General Manager Simon Barnes said constructing the overpass would add to the company’s track record of infrastructure builds in the area.
“Decmil is proud to partner with Major Road Projects Victoria and Victoria’s Big Build Roads to deliver the Ison Road Overpass project. We have delivered a number of projects in the region, most recently a section of the Barwon Heads Road Upgrade – Stage 1.”
Work on the Ison Road Overpass began in November 2023 after funding for the the project was announced in September 2022.
Due for completion by the end of 2025, the four-lane overpass will extend over the Melbourne-Geelong railway line toward the Princes Freeway and will have the capacity to expand to six lanes in the future.
It’s predicted the overpass will cater for 29,000 vehicles a day by 2036.
