As part of the Pound Road West Upgrade, crews will install new sustainable glass fibre bars on the newly constructed bridge over the Cranbourne railway.

In a Major Road Projects Victoria (MRPV) first, crews will install more than 1,000 bars of glass fibre, each almost six metres long, to reinforce concrete panels for the construction of retaining walls on the new bridge, which will remove the dead-ends at Remington Drive and Pound Road West.  

The glass fibre bars will be used as an alternative to conventional steel reinforcements. The glass fibre bars are more environmentally friendly than conventional steel bars, which produce four times more carbon dioxide during manufacture.   

Aside from its environmental benefits, the glass fibre reinforcements are more cost-effective than conventional steel, use less energy to manufacture compared to steel reinforcements, exceed the tensile strength of steel bars, are rust proof, non-conductive, non-ferrous and are lighter, which makes installation easier and safer for crews.  

 The glass fibre bars were manufactured locally in Pakenham by Rapid Pre-Cast Panels.  

The new bridge will provide better connections between the Dandenong South employment hub and freeway network, improving access in and around the area and reducing growing traffic pressure on Abbotts Road and the South Gippsland Highway.   

By 2031, it’s expected more than 40,000 vehicles will use this new connection every day.   

The bridge will feed into two lanes each way, bordered by new shared walking and cycling paths to improve access and safety for pedestrians and bike users.  

Major Road Projects Victoria Project Director, Marc Peterson, said, “We’re forging ahead with the Pound Road West Upgrade and employing new sustainable construction practices to help us to achieve the best environmental outcomes across our projects and create safer and more reliable journeys for motorists.”

Ecologiq Director, Tony Aloisio, said, “The industry is making great strides when it comes to innovation and using greener construction materials.

“Ecologiq will continue supporting this work as we move towards recycled and reused materials becoming business as usual on infrastructure projects.”

Once complete, the Pound Road West Upgrade will deliver improved traffic flow and travel times, new safety barriers to lower the risk and severity of crashes and improve access to the Dandenong South employment hub.  

The Pound Road West Upgrade is scheduled for completion in 2023.