Overview
If either St Kilda Road or Parkville's Grattan Street feature on your standard commute, you're probably going to want to scout out an alternative route — fast.
Hefty sections of both roads are about to be closed for a good, long time, as major construction begins on the $11 billion Metro Tunnel project, connecting the Parkville and Domain precincts to the city's rail system.
Once wrapped up, the project's expected to cut Melbourne's traffic numbers by up to 50,000 cars per day, though drivers look set to face a few big headaches in the meantime. Most significantly, around 800 metres of St Kilda Road (the part connecting Dorcas Street and Toorak Road West) will be reduced to just one lane from February 14 for up to four years. Up on Grattan Street, a 300-metre stretch between Royal Parade and Leicester Street will be closed to cars from February 19 for up to five years, though there'll still be pedestrian access and diversions for cyclists.
To cope with the fallout, the Victorian Government says it's delivering more than $25 million of upgrades elsewhere on Melbourne roads and public transport routes, including increased traffic lanes and the widening of roads. They've suggested alternative routes for the St Kilda Road stretch, such as Queens Road, Kings Way, Ferrars Street and Beaconsfield Parade, and for Grattan Street, including Alexandra Parade, Queensberry Street and Cemetery Road.
Acting Minister for Public Transport Luke Donnellan explained that while the works would be disruptive, they're also "absolutely necessary to build the badly-needed Metro Tunnel as safely and quickly as possible".
Just to catch you up, the Metro Tunnel will see two new nine-kilometre twin tunnels and five underground train stations added to Melbourne's inner city. These new stations will be located in Parkville, North Melbourne, CBD North, CBD South and the Domain, and create a new path into the city that doesn't rely on (but connects to) the City Loop. The idea is that it will ease congestion in the City Loop and allow more trains to be getting in and out of the city.