This winter Victoria's Big Build works progress on major road and rail projects, including removing level crossings, opening new stations and building vital road upgrades that will keep Victorians moving for decades to come.
Read more below about the major planned disruptions coming up in inner, west, north, east and south east Melbourne and regional Victoria.
Inner Melbourne
The Metro Tunnel is progressing towards opening next year, with critical testing of signalling, systems and operations continuing in winter. While construction on stations continues alongside testing, some roads, lanes and footpaths will be closed in the city with detours in place :
- Swanston Street footpath will be closed opposite St Paul’s Cathedral between Flinders Street and Flinders Lane from Monday 17 June to Monday 30 September.
- Flinders Street will be closed to Docklands-bound traffic between Swanston and Elizabeth streets from 9.30am Thursday 20 June to Friday 12 July.
Yarra Trams will be doing maintenance work in winter on routes 30, 35 and 86 with no trams between Melbourne Central and Central Pier from Friday 12 July to Saturday 27 July, and on routes 30 and 35 between Elizabeth Street and Nicholson Street from Sunday 16 August to Friday 30 August.
While these works take place, La Trobe Street will be closed to traffic in both directions between Harbour Esplanade and Queen Street from Friday 12 July to Saturday 27 July and in both directions between Queen and Nicholson streets from Friday 16 August to Friday 30 August.
Yarra Trams maintenance works will also take place in the city on routes 19, 57 and 59, with no trams between Flinders Street Station and Queen Victoria Market from Friday 30 August to Monday 16 September. During this time, Victoria Street will be closed to traffic in both directions between Therry and Peel streets, and Elizabeth Street will be closed to traffic in both directions between Therry and Queensberry streets.
Melbourne’s west
As part of the West Gate Tunnel Project, a 2.5km cycling veloway is being built above Footscray Road to give cyclists a safer and more direct route to the city. Suspended between the new elevated road above Footscray Road, the veloway will provide a dedicated, traffic-free route from Shepherd Bridge in Footscray to the city side of Moonee Ponds Creek.
While the veloway is being built, lanes on Footscray Road will be closed to traffic in both directions between Shepherd Bridge and Waterfront Way until late August, and citybound between Dock Link Road and Appleton Dock Road from August to September for up to 2 weeks.
Metro Tunnel testing will mean buses replace trains from North Melbourne to Sunshine stations on the Sunbury Line on weekends in mid June and late July.
Yarra Trams maintenance work to replace tracks and upgrade poles and powerlines means buses will replace trams on Route 82 between Moonee Ponds and Footscray Station and on Route 57 between Sandown Road and Central Park Avenue from Friday 28 June to Monday 15 July. Maribyrnong Road will be closed during this time between Union Road and Navigator Street.
Melbourne’s north
Tunnelling on North East Link will begin this winter, to help build the 6.5km-tunnels that will take 15,000 trucks off local roads and reduce travel times across the north east. A huge amount of work is underway to get ready for tunnelling – two 4,000-tonne tunnel boring machines are in the final stages of assembly, concrete tunnel segments are being built in Benalla, and a covered conveyer belt and shed are in place to safely load dirt and rock onto trucks.
Worksites are also being set up along the Eastern Freeway and M80 Ring Road, with large areas of open space needed to upgrade the freeways that will connect with the North East Link tunnels.
A new station at Keon Park will also open this winter.
Melbourne’s east
New stations at Ringwood East and Croydon will open this year and the Lilydale Line will become Melbourne’s first boom-gate-free train line in early July. Major construction also continues to remove the Dublin Road and Coolstore Road level crossings.
While this work is completed, buses will replace trains between Ringwood and Lilydale on the Belgrave and Lilydale lines between late May and early July.
Construction of Suburban Rail Loop is also continuing, with crews working across all 6 station locations between Cheltenham and Box Hill, and at the Heatherton train stabling facility site. To get this work done, some lanes and roads will be closed on Whitehorse Road and Station Street in Box Hill and the Burwood Highway in Burwood.
Melbourne’s south east
This winter, new train stations will open in East Pakenham, Pakenham and Parkdale. Pakenham will be level crossing free, and boom gates will also go at Warrigal Road, Mentone and Parkers Road, Parkdale. While this work continues, buses will replace trains at times in July and August on sections of the Frankston and Stony Point lines.
Metro Tunnel Project train testing will mean buses replace trains on the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines between Caulfield and Westall on some weekends in June and July. Affected passengers can change at Caulfield for Frankston Line trains to the city.
Work also continues on the Narre Warren-Cranbourne Road Upgrade, Pakenham Roads Upgrade and Healesville-Koo Wee Rup Road Upgrade this winter. To complete this work, some lanes and roads will be closed in these areas at times between May and August, including:
- Narre Warren-Cranbourne Road and Cameron Street, Cranbourne East
- Narre Warren-Cranbourne Road and Lyall Street/New Holland Drive intersection, Cranbourne
- Narre Warren-Cranbourne Road and Berwick-Cranbourne Road/Sladen Street intersection, Cranbourne
- McGregor Road, Pakenham
- Webster Way, Pakenham
- Healesville-Koo Wee Rup Road, Pakenham South
- Princes Freeway, Pakenham
- Henry Road, Pakenham.
Suburban Rail Loop construction continues and some lanes and roads will be closed between June and August, including overnight closures on Dingley Bypass in Heatherton and lanes closed on the Nepean Highway in Highett.
Regional Victoria
Major construction on the South Geelong to Waurn Ponds Duplication – including 2 rebuilt stations and removal of 2 congested level crossings – is nearing completion. While this work takes place, coaches will replace trains on the Geelong and Warrnambool lines between Wyndham Vale/Geelong and Warrnambool from Saturday 15 June until Sunday 25 August.
Roads will also be disrupted around these works during June, July and August, including closures with detours in place at Fyans Street and Swanston Street in South Geelong, Reserve Road and Marshalltown Road in Marshall, Surf Coast Highway in Grovedale and Barwon Terrace in Thomson.
V/Line works during winter will affect the Ballarat, Ararat and Maryborough lines with coaches replacing trains from Melton to Wendouree, Ararat and Maryborough from Thursday 20 June to Friday 28 June.
Find out more
Check for up-to-date disruptions information before you travel.