Roads throughout Victoria are preparing to make way for a monster 73-metre truck that will be commencing a journey from the outer-eastern suburb of Glen Waverley to the NSW border town of Wodonga.
The journey, which will take place over the course of three nights, will require rolling closures causing significant disruptions to traffic along the route.
The load will also be 5.3 metres wide, meaning it will take up the entire width of some roads.
Victoria Police will be present during the operation to help ensure there is no obstruction to the safe transport of the load, which will be handed over the NSW Police at the Wodonga rest area to support it on the rest of its journey.
There will be no designated viewing opportunities available, and Transport Victoria has asked the community to remain “well clear” of the vehicle.
“We ask motorists to be patient when encountering the load in transit, and to follow the direction of the traffic controllers escorting the load,” a statement from Transport Victoria reads.
“We ask the community to stay well clear for their own safety when the load is in transit and when parked.
“Due to its 5.3-metre width, this load will take up the entire width of some roads, however there will be limited opportunities to pass under the supervision of the specialist support crew.”
As part of the oversized load’s journey, crews will have to reinforce drainage and remove some lights and signs to allow it to pass through its route.
“Traffic management officers and load escorts will accompany the load for the entire journey, making sure roads are safe during and after the move,” the statement continues.
“They will help the vehicle manoeuvre safely around corners, temporarily removing signs and lights, placing steel supports over existing drainage and will then put everything back in place once the load has passed through.”
The transit will begin on January 19th and will result in temporary lane closures from 10pm along Springvale Road, then through Doncaster, Templestowe, Yallambie and Watsonia, and along the M80 Ring Road and the Hume Freeway before it pulls over at the Beveridge rest area.
Night two will see the load travel north along the Hume Freeway from Beveridge, leavin the freeway at Tallarook to use Main Road, Schoolhouse Lane and Dysart Road before returning to the freeway and arriving at the Wangaratta rest area early on Tuesday morning.
The load will then continue north along the Hume Freeway to Wodonga from 10pm on Tuesday, January 21st, from which New South Wales Police will take over coordination for the remainder of the journey through NSW.
The load will travel at speeds of up to 60 km/h and slow to 5 km/h when travelling over bridges or around corners.
Real-time traffic conditions are available at traffic.transport.vic.gov.au. The latest public transport information and network status is available at ptv.vic.gov.au or in the PTV mobile app.
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