The new Akuna Drive link road is now open in Victoria, safely connecting the suburbs of Newport and Williamstown.

The road’s opening is part of a project to remove two dangerous level crossings at the Maddox and Champion roads, easing congestion and boosting safety by separating trains from vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians.

Akuna Drive now connects these two roads and includes car parking for up to 80 vehicles on both sides of the road, with a further 50 parking spaces on Park Crescent.

With the new link road now open, a two-week construction effort will begin to build the passenger rail bridges over Maddox Road.

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Buses will replace trains between Newport and Werribee from Friday night, 10 April to last service, 24 April, as crews work on the new rail bridges and lift in the new pedestrian and cycling bridge over Champion Road, which is set to open in mid-April.

Champion Road will close permanently at the rail line from 10 April, and a shuttle bus will be available to safely transport locals across the rail line until the new pedestrian and cycling bridge opens.

When passenger trains return to the Werribee Line on Saturday, 25 April, they will also return to the Altona Loop and run on the new elevated bridges over Maddox Road, while crews start to build the third rail bridge over the road that will transport freight trains later this year.

This project is one of five planned level crossing removals which will be completed across Melbourne’s inner-west, at Newport, Altona, Spotswood and Yarraville.

These removals will make the Werribee Line boom gate-free by 2030.