27 Sep 2018 Wangaratta Chronicle, Wangaratta VIC (General News) Works progressing in Benalla WORK has started on a huge rail siding to service the new precast concrete facility being built in Benalla. Minister for Roads Luke Donnellan joined Jaclyn Symes (MLC, Northern Victoria) to visit the worksite in Benalla on Wednesday, that will soon start producing precast concrete for the State Governments West Gate Tunnel. A new 700 metre siding will be created from the existing rail line to provide direct access to the precast facility. New rail track will also be built connected to the nearby freight line so the concrete segments can be loaded directly from the precast facility on to freight trains and transported to Melbourne. About 20 metres of new track has been laid and the existing train line is being upgraded ahead of the commissioning of the new siding in late 2018. Construction is well under way on the new $60 million precast concrete facility in Benalla, to provide over 65,000 concrete products for the massive West Gate Tunnel Project. The precast facility will include a concrete batching plant, the large sheds for precast concrete production, offices, precast product storage, maintenance areas, a precast rail siding and 300 car parking spaces for workers. The precast facility will be the largest of its kind in Victoria, capable of producing over 1500 tonnes of concrete product per day at peak capacity. The precast facility will create 400 jobs and will help ensure regional communities can benefit from the many opportunities created by the states booming infrastructure sector. Building the new rail siding means that we can get concrete products from Benalla to Melbourne via the existing rail network, avoiding heavy vehicle traffic and associated road impacts, Minister Donnellan said. Ms Symes said it was a massive investment in Benalla. We are already seeing jobs being created for local people with construction well under way, she said.