Melbourne’s Epping Road upgrade has rebuilt historic dry-stone walls to maintain local heritage, while delivering safer and more reliable travel in Melbourne’s north
Melbourne’s Epping Road upgrade has rebuilt historic dry-stone walls to maintain local heritage, while delivering safer and more reliable travel in Melbourne’s north.
Specially trained experts were called in to rebuild the walls using traditional methods at three sites in Wollert, after the original walls were dismantled to make way for new lanes as part of the upgrade.
This process involved reassembling the walls from the original basalt stones, by fitting the various sizes together, without using binding materials such as grout or mortar.
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One of the rebuilt walls, 90m in length, is located on the north side of Lehmanns Road, while the other two, 60m and 20m long, are on the south side of Pine Park Drive.
The wall beside Lehmanns Road was rebuilt over eight weeks, finishing in early January, while the others were finished last October after six weeks of work.
Dry-stone walling is regarded as one of the oldest trades in the world, according to Victoria’s Big Build. The sturdy walls have been built in rural and urban areas throughout Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas for thousands of years.
The state government says Victoria’s dry-stone walls are considered European heritage because they reflect aspects of the agricultural, economic and social life at the time of settlement.
The walls began appearing in Australia following the arrival of European migrants, who were typically from countries with long histories of dry-stone walling, such as England, Scotland, Ireland and Germany, the Victorian government adds.
Due for completion in late 2025, the Victorian government says the Epping Road upgrade will provide safer and more reliable journeys for the 35,000 drivers who use the road daily in Melbourne’s north.
Major Road Projects Victoria is delivering the Epping Road upgrade with construction partner McConnell Dowell.