Denny Ave Level Crossing Removal

Work began onsite in December 2019. Service relocations and major works will start mid-2020.

Albany Highway works currently taking place on the east side are finalising new road surfaces, storm water drainage and business driveways, as the Water Corporation water main has been relocated.

The water main had to be relocated before our project works on Albany Highway to ensure it wasn’t damaged, given the very shallow depth it was buried at nearly 100 years ago.

Albany Highway upgrades include a new signalised intersection on Albany Highway at Fancote Street/Davis Road, two new turning pockets onto Davis Road and new road surfaces and footpaths.

Late this month, the works will move from the east side to the west side so the project team can tie-in the new water main, install new storm water drainage, new road surfaces and footpaths. Traffic management will also move to the west but one lane in each direction will remain open.

Albany Highway road construction is expected to be completed later this year.

The project will require the Armadale Line to temporarily close a handful of times. The closures will likely occur on weekends, and the community will be made aware well ahead of time to ensure alternative plans can be made. Replacement buses will be available.

The Denny Avenue level crossing is now closed and while the the new underpass is being constructed, drivers can cross the rail at:

• Railway Avenue and Streich Avenue opposite William Turner Reserve (2.4km south).
• Tonkin Highway from Albany Highway (3.3km north).
• Tonkin Highway from Corfield Street (3.6km north).

Pedestrians and cyclists can cross the rail at:

• Kelmscott Station (250m north).
• Opposite the intersection of Ottaway Street/Streich Avenue and Cammillo Road/Railway Avenue (750m south).

Please allow extra travel time.

Raising or lowering the railway at Denny Avenue would not be possible without major changes to Kelmscott Station. Similarly, a solution at Denny Avenue would require the level crossing to be closed for a significant period before the new crossing was available.

When assessing the final solution, a number of other potential locations to cross the rail were explored with key stakeholders, including the City of Armadale. The other locations would not have encouraged walking/cycling or promoted Kelmscott’s town centre revitalisation. The other solutions would also mean significant disruption to Denny Avenue during construction, causing major disruptions to the community’s main east-west road connection.

The size of this project’s road component means there will be impacts to road users. Every effort will be made to minimise road closures and their impacts to road users during construction, however they will be unavoidable. The contractor will develop a Traffic Management Plan to identify impacted roads and the changes required during construction. More information will be known and provided as these impacts are known.

The proposed design is aimed at providing a safe alternative to crossing the railway and improving traffic flow throughout the town centre. This is being achieved through road widenings and rerouting the main traffic flow from Denny Avenue through the new underpass at Davis Road. New signalised intersections will ensure traffic is managed safely, and they will be phased to ensure smooth traffic flow and reduced congestion.
 

Yes, Denny Avenue will still be used as a local road in the town centre. It will become a calmer and narrower road that connects Albany Highway to Streich Avenue, but it will not be possible to cross the railway from Denny Avenue.

No, pedestrians will not be able to cross the railway at Denny Avenue.  Pedestrian access will be provided at the new Davis Road underpass, and at Kelmscott Station.

Early staging plans show the Davis Road solution can largely be built with minimal impact to Denny Avenue during construction. There will be impacts to Streich Avenue and Railway Avenue during construction which will be managed to ensure they are kept to a minimum.

The final design for road underpass will be developed by the appointed contractor. More information will be provided to the community as this work progresses.

Modelling will be completed as the design progresses to identify if any noise mitigation measures are needed to reduce noise outputs. With the removal of the Denny Avenue level crossing warning sounds, overall noise is expected to be less.

Davis Road will be expanded to have four lanes, two lanes of traffic in each direction.

The Public Transport Authority currently has two car parks in Kelmscott, one on Albany Highway and one on Railway Avenue. The car park on Railway Avenue will be expanded by approximately 40 new bays. The current car parks at Kelmscott Station are not at capacity.

The project will improve overall road safety and traffic flow around Kelmscott and the town centre. It will provide improved walking and cycling connections, including a new principal-shared path along the rail near Railway Avenue. The project also brings an opportunity to improve general amenity in the public space around the railway, including refurbishment of the Station Master’s House, establishing a public space plaza, and facilitating the development of a future mixed-use site.

Pedestrians and traffic interacting with trains is a key risk on the rail network. The Public Transport Authority is working towards removing level crossings across the train network, not introducing or re-opening more. This is a national and global trend due to ongoing significant near-misses and the risk of death. As Kelmscott Station and the surrounding precinct is an established area, there will not be the re-establishment of any previous level crossings in the area.

Where possible, the Public Transport Authority will close level crossings to improve safety and ease congestion. Despite being less than 200m long, Denny Avenue was identified in the RAC’s Risky Roads survey as the most dangerous road in Perth for two consecutive years. METRONET will continue to review how to best close other level crossings on the network.

The bridge clearance is 4.6m high. The clearance will be tall enough to cater to trucks and large vehicles that need to travel under the bridge.

The Station Masters House will undergo some restoration work to make the building habitable, compliant and fit for use, with its final use and tenant yet to be confirmed.