Piling works are underway at Federation Square in Melbourne to strengthen ground before excavation starts on the Town Hall Station as part of the Metro Tunnel Project.
The excavation works will create one of the three entrances for Town Hall station, which will begin construction later in the year.
Once piling works are complete, an acoustic shed 13 metres wide, 40 metres long and 18 metres high will be built over the site.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has also provided a schedule for upcoming public transport works in Melbourne, warning the public of major commuter shut downs.
“Over the coming weeks crews will be busy at Metro Tunnel’s South Yarra site, where the tunnel’s eastern entrance is being built,” Andrews said.
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“The new Town Hall Station will connect people to Flinders Street, Federation Square and the rest of the network through the Metro Tunnel – slashing travel times and creating space for more passengers,” Andrews said.
“This is the biggest public transport ever built in Victoria, and it will benefit Victorians every single day – getting them to work quicker and home sooner.”
“Crews will get on with constructing the roof slab for the Metro Tunnel entrance and install piling to support the entrance structure.”
According to Andrews, buses will replace trains on the Sandringham line between 8:00pm 21 May and 7:00am 9 June to enable vital works on the Metro Tunnel’s eastern entrance.
During this period buses will run between Flinders Street and Sandringham station.
“Passengers should allow up to an extra 60 minutes for their journey,” Andrews said.
“The Metro Tunnel will create room for 72,000 more peak hour passengers a week, and save Sandringham line passengers up to 20 minutes a day with faster journeys to St Kilda Road, Parkville and Southern Cross Station.”
The eastbound section of La Trobe street will be shut for a month between Swanston Street and Elizabeth Street to allow for service relocations and the first step towards building the underground connection from Melbourne Central to the new State Library Station.
Additionally, as part of the Streamlining Hoddle Street project, Swan Street in Richmond will be closed to all traffic between Punt Road and Cremorne Street from late 19 May to early 24 May to build an accessible tram stop.
A temporary overnight closure of Punt Road at the Swan Street intersection will also take place between 2am and 5am on Monday 20 May, to enable the installation of new overhead tram lines.
Work on the Frankston line for the removal of level crossings and construction of the new Carrum Station will see buses replace trains between Frankston and Mordialloc from 24 May until 26 May.
Accessibility upgrade work on three East Brunswick stops along Nicholson Street will take place from 11 May and are scheduled to be completed by 18 May, closing Nicholson Street to trams and traffic for the duration.
The Burnley and EastLink tunnels will be closed overnight on 18 May to allow for maintenance work, and there will be overnight lane closures on the Monash Freeway between High Street and Warrigal Road for resurfacing work.
Transport Infrastructure Minster Jacinta Allan said she thanked passengers for their patience.
“We thank passengers for their patience as we get on with this vital work that will free up space in the City Loop to run more trains, more often across Melbourne,” she said.