Driveway crossovers and concrete removal

Building, widening or rebuilding the crossover between your boundary and the road needs a works permit from Latrobe City Council, and the council makes the property owner responsible for building and maintaining it to the council’s standard drawing. Removing old concrete before a new driveway or path is priced separately in most quotes, at about $30 to $100 per sqm as a stand-alone job according to a national cost guide verified in October 2026. Independent providers handle the quoting, the permit paperwork they agree to take on, and the work itself; this site only passes your enquiry on.

What counts as the crossover?

The crossover, or vehicle crossing, is the part of your driveway inside the road reserve. Latrobe City’s Vehicle Crossing and Stormwater Connection Policy, approved on 8 April 2024, says that in built-up areas the owner is responsible for the crossing from the edge of the road pavement to the property boundary, including footpath sections, infill, laybacks and kerbing, as shown on the council’s Standard Drawing LCC 307. In rural areas the owner’s responsibility runs from the edge of the road pavement, normally the gravel shoulder, to the boundary, including drainage, earthworks and culverts to Standard Drawings LCC 306 and LCC 212.

Setting	Typical crossing	Council drawing
Kerb and channel street in Traralgon, Morwell, Moe or Churchill	Concrete layback in the kerb, crossing slab across the nature strip and footpath	LCC 307
Rural road with open table drain	Pipe culvert under the entry with headwalls and a sealed or gravel crossing	LCC 306 and LCC 212

When do you need a permit?

Latrobe City’s works permit page lists construction and widening of driveways, vehicle crossings and stormwater connections among works in road reserves that may need a permit, and the policy says all vehicle crossings require works permits. Typical triggers:

• a new crossing for a new house or a second driveway
• widening an existing crossing, for example to fit a double garage or a caravan
• replacing a cracked or broken crossing
• connecting a property stormwater drain to the kerb

The council’s stated aims include protecting pedestrians, keeping on-street parking, protecting street trees and services in the road reserve, and stopping crossings from dominating the streetscape. A widening that removes a parking space or comes close to a street tree may not be approved as drawn.

The permit page says works permit application forms are available from the council service centres in Traralgon, Morwell, Moe and Churchill, and that applications can be emailed to the council to receive an invoice. The permit page has a fees section; check the current amount there before you budget. Where a crossing would sit over an underground fire hydrant, the council’s approval is needed first and the owner has to sign a formal agreement with the council before construction.

How crossover work runs

1. Confirm position and width against the council drawing and policy.
2. Lodge the works permit application and wait for approval.
3. Set up traffic and pedestrian protection on the footpath.
4. Saw cut and break out the old crossing and any damaged kerb or footpath.
5. Excavate, compact the base and set forms to the levels on the drawing.
6. Pour, finish and cure the crossing, then reopen the footpath.
7. Arrange any inspection the permit requires.

Concrete removal

Removal is often the hidden part of a replacement job. A provider needs to know:

• Area and thickness. A thin path breaks out quickly; a thick driveway with heavy mesh takes far longer.
• Access. Whether a small excavator and tipper can reach, or the concrete must be broken by hand and barrowed.
• Disposal. Where the rubble goes and whether tip or recycling charges are in the price.
• What is underneath. Services, old drains and soft fill can sit under old slabs.

Before any digging, the provider should lodge an enquiry with Before You Dig Australia to get plans of underground assets.

Cutting, grinding and breaking concrete creates dust that contains crystalline silica. WorkSafe Victoria has guidance for the construction industry on crystalline silica, and a provider should be using water suppression or extraction on saws and keeping neighbours, children and pets away from the cutting area.

The law behind the road reserve

Latrobe City’s policy says it is read with the Road Management Act 2004, the council’s planning scheme and its Local Law No. 2, which deals with vehicle crossings. In practice this means the council, as road manager, decides what is built in the road reserve and to what standard, even though the owner pays for it and maintains it.

What a careful provider will not do

• Start breaking out a crossing before the works permit is approved
• Leave a footpath open as a trip hazard overnight without barriers
• Dry cut concrete next to occupied houses
• Pour a crossing to their own detail instead of the council drawing
• Bury a stormwater connection or pit without it being inspected

Local angle

Morwell alone had more than 2,000 homes built by the Housing Commission as the power industry grew, and Moe had about 1,500, according to Victorian Places. Those streets were laid out decades ago, so a widening or rebuild there is assessed against today’s policy and drawing. New homes in Traralgon’s growth areas need first crossings built to the same standard. The Morwell and Traralgon area pages say more about each.

What to do next

Photograph the existing crossing from the street, measure the width you want, and note any street trees, pits or hydrants nearby. Then submit your crossover or removal job. The concrete driveways page covers the slab inside your boundary, and the cost guide explains how removal affects the total.

Send a job enquiry