Boosting safety, improving accessibility and making Yarraville boom gate free is one step closer, with a contract awarded to deliver the 2 new accessible underpasses that will replace the level crossing.
Anderson Street is one of the most dangerous level crossings on the metropolitan rail network, with one fatality and 4 serious injuries since 2006, and 26 near misses involving trains, pedestrians and vehicles since 2016. As recently as 2023, a vehicle collided with a train at the level crossing.
More than 6000 people use the Anderson Street level crossing each day, with the boom gates down for half of the morning peak.
Four rounds of community engagement have taken place and early designs were released in May for 2 pedestrian underpasses that will keep pedestrians and cyclists connected and allow the dangerous Anderson Street level crossing to close to vehicles.
The new Anderson Street underpass will feature stairs, as well as 2 lifts on each side of the rail line to cater for cyclists and people with prams, mobility aids and wheelchairs.
The underpass at Murray and Goulburn streets will feature stairs and ramps, providing another safe and accessible crossing point for everyone moving around the area.
As part of designs, the project will create a new pedestrian-friendly open space on Anderson Street encouraging outdoor dining, as well as new opportunities for seating, landscaping and public artwork.
There will be more opportunities for community consultation next year. An Open Space Advisory Panel will be formed in early 2027 to help shape this new space on Anderson Street and capture community feedback on how the Woods Street Reserve should be used following construction – whether for extra car parking, community amenities or a mixture of both.
Parking on Anderson Street will be replaced in the Woods Street area, ensuring no loss of car spaces, and the project is exploring options to deliver increased parking to improve access to the busy Yarraville Village.
Public artwork in the Yarraville precinct, near the 2 underpasses and in the surrounding area, will also be a focus of the community consultation that will take place next year.
Final designs will be released and construction will start in 2027, with the project completed in 2029.
The contract to remove the Anderson Street, Yarraville and Hudsons Road, Spotswood level crossings has been awarded to an alliance comprising Acciona, WSP, Metro Trains Melbourne, and the VIDA Rail.
The Hudsons Road level crossing will be removed and the new Spotswood Station will open in 2028.
