$25m transport fix to stop Metro Tunnel traffic causing gridlock

MELBOURNE’S transport network will undergo a $25 million overhaul to stop traffic from grinding to a halt during the construction of the $10.9 billion Metro Tunnel.

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MELBOURNE’S transport network will undergo a $25 million overhaul to stop traffic from grinding to a halt during the construction of the $10.9 billion Metro Tunnel.

A new map of the citywide disruption has been released by the Melbourne Metro Rail Authority revealing changes at 250 locations in Melbourne’s CBD from the end of this year.

The alterations are expected to impact more than 23,000 daily commuters using St Kilda Rd and thousands of commuters north of the CBD for the next four years.

Remodelling for road users, cyclists and public transport users includes:

■ Changes to traffic lights at 100 intersections in the inner city

■ 3000 vehicles displaced from St Kilda Rd during peak hours.

■ Rezoning car parks for truck holding bays and clearways.

■ Merging tram routes from St Kilda Rd, impacting 20,000 commuters a day.

■ $1.5 million of new CCTV cameras to monitor inundated traffic routes south of the CBD.

■ Altering pedestrian traffic signals in Parkville to influence drivers to find alternate rotes.

Part of the forthcoming disruptions highlighted on a Melbourne Metro Rail Authority map.

.The Andrews Government has previously flagged “ordinary people” will be significantly impacted by the construction.

However, the document put out by the MMRA last week details the citywide overhaul, including new routes for motorists on St Kilda Rd to make way for the new Domain Station.

Hundreds of vehicles will be diverted to Kings Way and Canterbury Rd every day when lanes are closed from the end of this year.

Tram routes 8 and 55 will be merged into a new Route 58, which will run from Toorak through South Yarra to Domain, and then along William Street to Parkville and West Coburg.

MMRA spokesman Reid Sexton said: “These improvements to roads and small shifts in travel habits will help us keep Melbourne moving throughout construction”.

“Building the Metro Tunnel will cause disruption to streets in the city but will create space for huge increases in trains to the suburbs.”

The map follows announcements that Franklin St and A’Beckett St will be shut for five years.

Opposition spokesman Ryan Smith said the government had “botched planning’’.

But Major Projects Minister Jacinta Allan said building the “huge project” would disrupt the city but the rail network would choke without it.

“We’re not wasting any more time like the lazy Liberals did — we’re getting on with it,” Ms Allan said.

More details on the plan can be found here: metrotunnel.vic.gov.au/planning/road-and-transport-network