Engineering students gained career insight by touring Bridge Inn Road earlier this month while the road was still under construction.
Arranged through Major Road Projects Victoria, MRPV, and upgrade construction partner Laing O’Rourke, 20 students from the city campus visited the site and engaged with the upgrade team who led four hours of activities.
As a first for MRPV, tertiary students watched crews building the new bridge over Plenty River and attended a presentation on its construction process.
The team also conducted a presentation on careers in engineering along with a question and answer panel featuring representatives of MRPV and Laing O’Rourke working on the project.
Big Build Roads Program director Adrian Furner said the tour was a ‘great opportunity’ to introduce the students to the work of MRPV, while providing valuable insights on civil engineering careers.
“We were pleased to work with RMIT to show the engineering students how the Bridge Inn Road upgrade will help people get home sooner and safer,” he said.
“Encouraging budding engineers and providing them with career information and opportunities is an important part of our work.”
RMIT industry experiences coordinator Yoshiko Yamada thanked MRPV and Laing O’Rourke for working with them to arrange the tour, which all participating students appreciated and gained experience.
“The Bridge Inn Road Upgrade site tour was an excellent initiative to help our students better understand the critical work of civil engineers, gain real-world experience, and learn about the career opportunities available to them in road construction,” she said.
The Bridge Inn Road Upgrade is adding extra lanes in both directions between Plenty and Yan Yean roads to help people reach home safer and sooner.
Other improvements include upgrades to key intersections, the construction of safety barriers and shared walking and cycling paths to enhance safety and connectivity.
The project will repurpose the existing 155-year-old heritage bridge as a walking and cycling path.
The upgrade aims to reduce congestion and improve travel times while boosting safety and connecting communities across Melbourne’s growing outer-northern suburbs.
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