Congestion Relief and Safety for Melbourne’s West with Moddex’s Pre-Engineered Solutions

Federation Trail overpass, as part of the $1.8 billion Western Roads Upgrade, sees soaring success.

A quicker, easier and safer environment for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers

With thriving local communities breathing a collective sigh of relief, the Victorian Government entered a Public Private Partnership (PPP) with project consortium, Netflow, to improve roads and infrastructure in Melbourne’s western suburbs. At $1.8 billion, this project is Victoria’s largest single investment in arterial roads to date.

Federation Trail upgrades were a critical part of the project, which was designed to improve cycling and pedestrian infrastructure, reduce road congestion and improve productivity. The upgrades were progressively implemented across eight high-priority arterial roads, congested intersections, and 30 kilometres of road widening and lane duplication across west Melbourne.

Six metres above Dohertys Roads, the commissioning of the first of three overpasses in 2020 removed the reliance on ground level crossings while providing hundreds of trail users and riders a safer journey. A 220m bridge at the Palmers Road and Sayers Road intersection and another one over Leakes Road followed suit.

The Western Roads Ugrade also includes a 20-year contract to guarantee ongoing road maintenance of the 260kms connecting Footscray and Werribee, covering pavement improvements and rubbish and graffiti removal.

Leading the project’s Initial Phase works across design, construction, and delivery, WBHO Infrastructure teamed with Winslow Infrastructure and Moddex to carry out the upgrades.

Dynamic innovation to fulfil unforeseen requirements

With works taking place to repair and resurface a myriad of 37 roads and strengthening seven structures, mostly bridges, premium access solutions were required to enhance the safety of pedestrians and commuters.

While Winslow Infrastructure investigated a few alternatives, they found Moddex’s propriety systems to be the best and most cost-effective for the job.

Moddex’s pre-engineered solutions for public safety and access

Spanning more than 50kms of shared user paths and three new overpasses along the Federation Trail, Moddex was engaged to supply over 450m of bridge barriers as well as bikeway barriers.

Complying with AS 5100.2 Clause 12.5, the Moddex BridgerailTM systems is a pre-engineered solution suited to public access areas which form part of a road, rail or other elevated bridge structures.

True to our overarching vision of “more value, in less time, every time”, the BR45 BridgerailTM with offset cycle rails was installed over 450m of the Western Road Upgrade’s Federation Trail works. The BR45 was also complemented by our BR10 configuration for another 105m of installation.

Lastly, Moddex’s Bikesafe® BS40 bikeway barriers were installed to ensure the ultimate protection of cyclists, especially those travelling at speed. Eliminating or mitigating injury from falls, our bikesafe systems come with curved sections and smooth continuous top rails to flow with cycle ways.

Working together harmoniously, these new installations will encourage more cyclists to use the upgraded trail’s safer and more comfortable commute.

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At Moddex we like to help you make sure everything fits™. So, if you’re looking for the right solution for handrails and balustrades on your project, look no further than Moddex. Contact us today on 1800 663 339, we’d love to hear from you.

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