Hoddle St shutdown to spark Melbourne summer traffic chaos

AUSTRALIA’S largest motor club was not told about a major shutdown of Hoddle St — one of the city’s busiest roads — which will cause commuter chaos in the new year.

VICTORIA’S peak motoring body has hit out at the Andrews Government’s plan to shut down Hoddle St in early January, ­insisting drivers should have been told weeks earlier.

The eight-day upgrade will shut down the city’s busiest road from the Eastern Freeway to Victoria Parade and cause traffic chaos in the new year.

RACV roads manager Dave Jones said the public should have been given more notice.

“Notifications should be no later than November, with frequent reminders, to help commuters and business plan their Christmas and new year closures,” he said.

“RACV supports the improvement works made to Hoddle St, although we would like to see 24/7 clearways with permanent bus lanes along Hoddle St to ensure ­motorists and commuters travelling by bus experience a faster and more reliable journey.

“Clearways on selected arterial roads allow that space to be more effectively used for wider footpaths, bike and bus lanes, and traffic lanes.”

Roads Minister Luke Donnellan said the decision to close Hoddle St had been made after a timetable change for upgrades on the Hurstbridge train line.

MELBOURNE ROADWORKS HEADACHE: DRIVERS TO BE STUCK MORE THAN EVER BEFORE

HODDLE ST TRADERS SAY 24/7 CLEARWAY WILL PUT THEM OUT OF BUSINESS

The city’s busiest arterial road will be closed in both directions between the Eastern Freeway and Victoria Parade from 12.30am on January 7 to 11.30pm on January 14. VicRoads has warned drivers to avoid the area and to expect trips to take up to an hour more.

The road upgrade aims to clear the city’s worst bottleneck.
Mr Jones said many commuters and businesses would have locked in their holiday plans and this work would be “very disruptive to people’s lives”.

Hoddle St traffic to the south of Collingwood footbridge. Picture: Jason Edwards

“It is obviously a quieter period and maybe it’s a tie-in with some of the other closures.”

“We don’t know how this project is fitting in with the overall context with what else might be announced.”

Every day, 130,000 motorists use Hoddle St, and 200,000 motorists use intersecting roads.

There will be major delays on the Eastern Freeway, where drivers will all be forced on to Alexandra Parade, resulting in huge congestion in the city’s inner north. Smith, Brunswick and Nicholson streets are expected to be particularly badly affected.

In Richmond, Swan St and Bridge Rd are expected to be clogged, and Kew will face snarls as motorists seek to avoid Eastern Freeway jams. The Swan St bridge, still being redeveloped, will be another bottleneck.

Mr Jones said upgrades would see key-turns introduced at Johnston St and changes near Swan St.
“There will be a ban on right turns from Hoddle St into Johnston St. So people will have to go past and do a U-turn and come back … which will simplify the traffic signal at Johnston St,” he said.

A greater number of motorists from Melbourne’s eastern suburbs are also likely to opt to use the Monash Freeway.

Also on Tuesday, the State Government revealed a radical change to its West Gate Tunnel project.

The change will involve digging a longer tunnel, which is intended to have less of an impact on residents in the western suburbs.

But the project will now cost $6.7 billion — $1.2 billion more than the most recent estimate.

The Hoddle St improvements are the first of a series of construction jobs the Andrews Government is banking on to end what has become a traffic nightmare for those using the arterial road.

WEST GATE TUNNEL TO NOW COST $6.7 BILLION

DANGEROUS STRETCH ON PUNT RD, SOUTH YARRA TO GET FIXED AFTER CRASHES

Roads Minister Luke Donnellan defended the decision to close the major arterial road with less than a month’s notice, after criticism from the RACV.

He said the decisions was only made in “recent days” after a change to the construction schedule on the Hurstbridge rail line made way for the closure.

“In this instance we have two major events — the Australian Open and the Boxing Day Test — but we found an opportunity to get in and do an eight-day blitz,” Mr Donnellan said.

“We’ve looked for gaps in our construction schedule and we’ve inserted opportunities.

“While Hoddle St is closed, the Hurstbridge line is open. When the Hurtsbridge line is closed, Hoddle St is open.”

Mr Donnellan also confirmed that one lane would remain open for residents and businesses of Hoddle St, as well as public buses.
He said the week-long closure would spare Melburnians what would otherwise have been three months of disruptions and delays.
“Shutting down Hoddle St isn’t a decision we take lightly, but it’ll allow construction crews to get the best start to this significant project, while we spare drivers from three months of uncertain and ongoing closures,” he said.

“Five construction crews will be working along this key stretch of road in double shifts, around the clock, to begin transforming Hoddle St,” Mr Donnellan said.

Melbourne’s busiest rail line will also grind to a halt from January 2 to January 7.

Buses will replace trains along large stretches of the Cranbourne, Pakenham and Frankston lines during the shutdown.

Following the week-long closure of Hoddle St, an additional lane leading from the Eastern Freeway will be close to being completed. But one lane on each side of Hoddle St will still be closed each way, as minor works continue.

CHRISTMAS TRAFFIC IN MELBOURNE BUSIEST ON FRIDAYS

SUSIE O’BRIEN: MELBOURNE TRAFFIC IS WORSENING, AND POLITICIANS ARE TO BLAME

The Streamlining Hoddle St project is expected to be complete by the end of 2018.

The government will on Wednesday also announce a response to proposals to introduce 24/7 clearways in the area.

In 2018, around-the-clock clearways will run between Victoria Parade and Bridge Rd; on Punt Rd between Bridge Rd and the Yarra River; and on Swan St between Punt Rd and Stewart St.

But daytime parking will remain between the Eastern Freeway and Victoria Parade, following concerns from locals and from business owners who feared losing customers.

Instead, clearway hours along that stretch of road will be extended to operate from 6am to 10am for citybound motorists, and from 3.30pm to 7.30pm for motorists leaving the city.

When complete, the road will also include dedicated bus lanes to provide express journeys in and out of the city.

THE DELAYS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT

ROADS

— West Gate Bridge lane closures for maintenance between Boxing Day and December 30.

— Western Ring Ring (M80) partial road and lane closures expected as part of the CityLink Tulla Widening project.
— Monash Freeway will also see partial road and lane closures.
— St Kilda Road will see temporary lane reductions in each direction between Toorak Rd West/Kings Way and Dorcas St. Trams will be unaffected.
— St Kilda Road will be reduced to one lane in each direction for up to four years, as Metro Tunnel’s new Anzac Station is built.
— Flinders Lane will close for four days from January 10 and 11 days from January 30 between Swanston and Russel St to allow trucks to safely remove rubble and equipment to build the new Town Hall Station.
— Grattan St will be closed for a number of years from February, in both directions between Royal Pde and Leicester St, as works begin on the new underground station at Parkville.

TRAINS

— Hurstbridge line track duplication works and level crossing removal will see buses replace trains on some sections between January 18-23.
— Cranbourne, Pakenham and Frankston line works will see buses will replace trains between January 2-9.

TRAMS

— Trams will not run on Lygon Street between Elgin and Weston Street from January 3-16 for track renewal works.

More information:

vicroads.vic.gov.au and ptv.vic.gov.au.

[e-mail]

@KieranRooneyCM

READ MORE HERALD SUN STORIES:

HUSBAND CHARGED WITH KAREN RISTEVSKI MURDER

VICTORIA SET TO SWELTER THROUGH SUMMER SCORCHER