By Carla Jaeger
A 200-tonne crane will shut down a key section of Flinders Street to traffic for all of 2025, as the Allan government races to complete two Big Build projects.
Along with the shutdown of the major arterial road, works on projects including the West Gate Bridge and Metro Tunnel will disrupt trips across Melbourne over summer.
Transport Infrastructure Minister Danny Pearson announced the works while at Anzac Station on Friday.Credit: Joe Armao
From late January, Flinders Street – one of the CBD’s busiest roads – will close between Swanston and Elizabeth streets to accommodate the crane. Westbound traffic on the road will also be reduced to one lane between Russell and Swanston streets.
Pedestrian access will remain on both sides of Flinders Street between Swanston and Elizabeth, and on the north side of Flinders between Russell and Swanston streets. The south side of Flinders in that section is already closed to pedestrians and will stay that way until the end of 2025.
Transport Infrastructure Minister Danny Pearson said the yearlong shutdown was necessary to get the Metro Tunnel ready for passengers.
“We’re bringing in riders, train staff and station staff to try and test-control the way in which the Metro Tunnel will operate so that we can ensure this project will be ready in 2025, ahead of schedule,” Pearson said on Friday.
“We’re doing that because we’ve got to locate this 200-tonne crane to build that entrance at Federation Square and Town Hall [station]. What that means is that [part] of Flinders Street, both eastbound and westbound, will be closed between Swanston Street and Russell Street.”
Pearson said the crane could not be placed anywhere else because existing infrastructure was being moved, and due to the depth of the Metro Tunnel.
He added the alternative to shutting down the two sections of Flinders Street would be cutting off left-hand turn from Flinders Street into St Kilda road.
“You couldn’t [keep both open], and the advice was to … allow for that left-hand turn into St Kilda road given the fact St Kilda road is a major, important precinct.”
The government later said the decision was based on “extensive traffic modelling”, and that a similar shutdown of Flinders Street in July added five to 10 minutes to commuter trips.
Three city-bound lanes on the West Gate Bridge will also close from Boxing Day to January 4, due to annual maintenance works. The closure is expected to cause delays of up to 30 minutes.
Passengers travelling on the Sunbury, Cranbourne and Pakenham train lines will face weekend disruptions from late November until mid-December.
The section of Flinders Street between Swanston and Elizabeth streets will be closed through 2025.Credit: Getty Images
Buses will replace trains on sections on the Sunbury line, while Cranbourne and Pakenham passengers will have their services disrupted from January 2 to 11. The Hurstbridge line will also shut down for two months, from February, with bus replacements scheduled.
Pakenham residents will also face disruptions, with the McGregor Street city-bound ramp to the Princes Freeway closing from January 14 to early March.
In December, the removal of 10 level-crossings will impact the Sunbury and Bendigo train lines.
Opposition major projects spokesperson David Southwick lashed the traffic disruption.
“Who shuts down Flinders Street for the whole of 2025 because they’ve got a project [which didn’t need to shut down the street] prior, and now it’s shutting down?” he said.
“This is a government that has not planned this project, the Metro Tunnel, from the beginning.”
Southwick also questioned the cost of shutting the major road.
“Victorians are paying the price when the major arterial road in the CBD gets shut down for the whole of the year,” he said.
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