Newsroom

St Kilda Rd Albert Rd Melbourne Metro Tunnel
The big dig gears up

All the jawboning about the Melbourne Metro Tunnel is about to stop, and the jackhammers are about to start, as work ramps up at multiple locations around the inner city.

Bikes will be impacted, but it's not all bad. In fact it will be an opportune time to take your bike to the city.

Because general traffic will have reduced access into and around the CBD, bikes will have a strong competitive advantage for commuters in the middle and inner suburbs.

And the more bikes on the road, the less congested will be roads and public transport.

That is why Melbourne Metro, roads authorities and the inner councils are making numerous tweaks and refinements to key routes and alternative connections.

In the coming months there will be significant changes made to the roads near the new station precincts.

Bicycle Network will provide details to riders via its newsletter and social media channels.

Here is a summary of what is immediately ahead.

Domain

From mid-to-late February, St Kilda Road will be reduced to one lane in both directions for around 800 metres between Kings Way/Toorak Road West and Dorcas Street for up to four years.

Pedestrian and cycling access will be maintained.

Buses will replace trams on a section of Route 58 in February while a new tram stop is built on Park Street in South Melbourne.

Buses will replace all trams along a section of St Kilda Rd during the April school holidays as tram tracks and traffic lanes are reconfigured to make way for major excavation in the middle of St Kilda Road.

Alternative routes for St Kilda Road include Kings Way, Queens Road, Ferras Street and Beaconsfield Parade. Motorists should allow up to 15 minutes extra travel time if they travel along this stretch of St Kilda Road.

Parkville

Grattan Street will close in both directions for around 300 metres from Royal Parade to Leicester Street for up to five years.

Pedestrian access will be maintained through Grattan Street while some diversions will apply for bike riders.

More information about the alternative bike routes will be released soon.

Bus routes 401, 402, 403, 505, and 546 will be rerouted.

Grattan Street alternatives include Queensberry Street, Alexandra Parade and Cemetery Road/College Crescent. Motorists should allow up to 15 minutes extra travel time if they travel through Parkville.

At the Metro Tunnel site in North Melbourne, demolition is almost complete, and work will soon start to prepare for a Tunnel Boring Machine launch shaft.

In Kensington, work is well advanced on the complex task of relocating high voltage transmission towers to make way for the Metro Tunnel’s western entrance.