North East Link Kicking Goals With Sport Upgrades
North East Link’s investment in local sporting clubs is kicking goals with upgrades at Ford Park, Bellfield on track to be completed by end of the year.
North East Link is the biggest road project in Victoria’s history – finally fixing the missing link in Melbourne’s freeway network. The project will slash travel times, reduce congestion, and free up local roads for local trips.
As the project prepares to begin major construction late this year, 19 sports grounds are being upgraded as part of a $68 million package with improved playing surfaces, flood lights and at least six brand-new accessible pavilions that include female change rooms.
With the structure in place for the new sports pavilion and natural turf being laid on the football oval, the remaining works on the new carpark, field lighting and landscaping will begin in the coming months. Ford Park will be ready in time for spring.
At Binnak Park in Watsonia North, natural turf has been laid on the new oval, with the pavilion starting to take shape and the synthetic turf to be laid for the cricket pitches.
At the Veneto Club in Bulleen, a new synthetic soccer pitch, lighting and club change rooms are complete, allowing matches and training to be held at night, and helping the club to cater for more soccer in the future.
Works are in full swing on the new and upgraded sporting facilities at Greensborough College. With construction to be completed mid this year, the new pavilion includes change rooms, electronic scoreboards and lighting to make training and playing games easier during the winter months.
Early works for North East Link are well underway. Crews have recently relocated high voltage towers in Watsonia and are continuing to move underground utilities along Greensborough Road, with telecommunications tower relocations coming up in Watsonia and Greensborough.
In Bulleen, the first of three mini tunnel boring machines will launch soon to build the new 1.8 kilometre section of the Yarra East Main Sewer.
Two detailed bids are being assessed for the project design, with a preferred bidder to be selected in the middle of the year. Major construction on North East Link will begin this year, with the road set to open in 2027.