We played an active role in the development of the Yan Yean Road Stage 2 Upgrade with our client, Major Road Projects Victoria (MRPV).
Located in the growing region of Melbourne’s outer northern suburbs, Stage 2 of the Yan Yean Road Upgrade will see the arterial connector grow from two to four lanes between Kurrak Road, Yarrambat and Bridge Inn Road, Doreen. Once all approvals are obtained for the Project, the upgrade will ease traffic congestion and provide much needed safety infrastructure for the local area.
We provided services across our multi-disciplinary offering including transport traffic and preliminary design, ecological, planning, air quality, noise and vibration, hydrological modelling and social impact assessments, which formed many of the Technical Assessments that informed the Environment Effects Statement (EES) managed by MRPV. We also provided expert evidence to the EES Inquiry and Advisory Committee Public Hearings.
Improving the safety and connection of the community
With 24,000 drivers expected to use the road daily, the project not only connects the community situated on the outer edge of the northern growth corridor to new development areas but will also support significant improvements to road safety, including:
- Adding centre median and kerb-side safety barriers along the road
- Installing new traffic lights and roundabouts to upgrade existing intersections
- Adding a small section of service road for safer access to residential properties.
- Creating six intersections with traffic lights to provide safer pedestrian crossings
- Constructing new walking and cycling paths.
Cultural significance and heritage design
As part of our role in supporting the delivery of the EES we completed assessments for the environmental existing conditions, and social, economic and cultural impacts of the construction, operation and maintenance of the project.
By providing a wide range of services within a project team, it meant we were able to work with MRPV to successfully navigate some of the sensitive issues associated with the development of the land. Those included the old Doreen Post Office, heritage listed vegetation, Aboriginal Cultural Heritage values to the land and protected flora and fauna.
Significantly, our team supported the development of design options to enable the retention of 200-year-old river red gums and minimising the removal of vegetation using a narrow road corridor and retaining walls along the road.
