Everything you need to know about Victoria's Big Build

You might have noticed some changes going on in Melbourne. There's a giant hole where City Square used to be. There's a lot of heavy machinery around the West Gate. And you might have to get a replacement bus instead of a train home. 

It's all part of Victoria's Big Build, a $30 billion suite of projects that will improve the way we get around the city. Yes, there will be some initial pain, but when you're flying into work through the new tunnel instead of stuck in traffic on the West Gate, or getting through the City Loop in a flash, it will be worth the inconvenience. The government has made sure that during construction, if your plan A travel plans are disrupted, there will be a plan B to make sure you get where you are going. 

Victoria's Big Build comprises a whopping 35 major transport projects currently underway to improve our state. To give you a sense of the scale, some projects include:

• The Metro Tunnel, which will untangle the City Loop, allow for way more trains to go through the city to and from the suburbs across Melbourne; 
  
  
• Removing 50 level crossings – with 25 already gone - which will make crossing the road so much safer and improve traffic flow;
  
  
• a massive Regional Rail Revival package to upgrade every regional passenger train line in Victoria;
  
  
• The West Gate Tunnel, which will provide an alternative route into the city;
  
  
• Victoria’s biggest road tunnel and project, the North East Link;
  
  
• Major upgrades to roads like the M80, CityLink, Tullamarine and Monash; and
  
  
• The Mernda Rail Extension project, bringing trains to growing outer suburbs in Melbourne's north.

Got all that? A project of this magnitude needs a lot of hands on deck, and the government will be creating up to 12,000 jobs at the peak of construction with all this building going on. The project is actively recruiting people in all kinds of fields, not just construction, so if you want to be part of shaping Victoria's transport network, head on over to https://bigbuild.vic.gov.au/jobs. 

And if you need to know how to get around with the disruptions this construction will cause, there's a handy map of what transport options are not functioning normally – and the all-important plan B to help you get where you need to be.