Update 29 August: This project is wrapping up but works are continuing in the area. Click here for more information.
There will be major transport dislocation in the north of the Melbourne CBD from next Monday, 26 August, as Swanston Street is temporarily fully closed to traffic.
There will be double-trouble as this closure - to install new overhead tram wiring along the frontage of Metro Tunnel station site at the corner of Swanston and La Trobe Streets - will be concurrent with the ongoing closure of La Trobe Street for the construction of new trams stops.
There will be no bike access along Swanston Street between La Trobe Street and Little La Trobe Street Monday 26 August to Friday 30 August 2024, 6am to 7pm each day due to these works.
Similarly, there will be no bike access to adjoining La Trobe Street during this period.
Riders on the busy north-south Swanston Street route From Melbourne University to the city will need to detour from further north or south to alternative routes such as Peel Street, Elizabeth Street, and Exhibition Street via Queensberry and Rathdowne Streets.
For regular riders of the La Trobe Street route, your existing detours along Little Bourke and Little Lonsdale Streets remain in place until the end of those works.
However, it is important to note that Swanston Street riders will not be out of the woods once the tram works at the station are completed.
This closure will segue into the next closure of Swanston Street at the corner of Swanston and Victoria Streets for two other tram-related projects.
This means that Swanston Street will in effect be closed until 16 September, as will Victoria Street between Swanston and Elizabeth from 30 August. This will also result in substantial changes to motor traffic patterns, to be managed by encouraging cars to detour well away from the CBD.
Further guidance on preferred bike detours during these later stages- by which time La Trobe Street will be open again - will be provided soon.
For pedestrians, from 26 to 29 August, the Swanston/La Trobe north-south crossings will be closed and pedestrians walking northbound will need to detour via La Trobe Street, then via Elizabeth Street or Russell Street. Pedestrians walking southbound will need to detour using either A'Beckett or Little La Trobe streets, then Elizabeth Street.
Tram services will be impacted by the closure of the following Swanston Street stops from 26 August to 15 September:
- Stop 4 - Queensberry Street
- Stop 7 - RMIT University
- Stop 8 - Melbourne Central Station (the State Library Victoria side)
Passengers will need to walk between stops to continue their journey.
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