The project is part of the North East Link Central Package and involved construction of approximately 2.5km of new roads, which would be used by around 14,700 vehicles a day.

TTW was the principal consultant on this project and managed geotechnical, traffic, civil, electrical, and lighting component of the design.

TTW liaised closely with Department of Transport (DTP), IREA, North East Link, SPARK consortium, Melbourne Water, Proof Engineers and Manningham City council to deliver this complex road project. The proposed roads diversions are already in place and have been open to traffic since April 2024.

The design package involved Manningham Road augmentation, Bridge Street Road widening and Bulleen Road modifications to support the construction of the Cut & cover on north & south side of Manningham Road for the tunnelling works. Bridge Street, Manningham Rd and Bulleen Rd are DTP managed arterial roads.

The project involved two stages:

Stage 1 – All eastbound traffic being re-routed via Bridge Street and Bulleen Road being provided with alternative lane configuration of Bulleen Road north approach. Westbound traffic to utilise the eastbound carriageway on the west approach.

Stage 2 - Eastbound traffic will continue to be re-routed via Bridge Street and Bulleen Road with an alternative lane configuration of Bulleen Road north approach maintained. Westbound traffic will utilise a portion of the existing westbound carriageway on the west approach.

Road Geometric Design

The horizontal and vertical geometric design involved configuration of new laneways, signalised intersections, duplications of existing roads to meeting ultimate road alignment and tying into existing Manningham and Bulleen Road intersections. The geometry considered the cut & cover sections adjacent to the Manningham Road which are 4-5m deep open cuts, existing historical and environmentally significant tree and proposed DN1150 town water supply main. To support the design a detailed sight assessment analysis was conducted on both the horizontal and vertical alignment of the road to ensure there is no obstruction to the sight lines of the road users. Heavy vehicular stability checks were undertaken to ensure the developed vertical geometry is fit for purpose for semis, B double and B triples

Provision for Bicycle and Pedestrian Movements

As the works involved significant changes to the neighbourhood, businesses, movement of vehicles and road closures, the design had to heavily focus on ensuring pedestrian and cyclist movements are not disturbed due to the works. Thorough consultation with Department of Transport, Manningham City Council and Bicycle Victoria was required to ensure all stakeholders needs were met.

Client: SPARK Consortium

Value: $19M

Completion: 2024

Sector: Transport & Infrastructure

Services: Civil, Traffic