Stand by for traffic chaos
30 Jun 2010
VicUrban has announced the dates and times it will close major Harbour Esplanade intersections for tram works.
The Dudley St intersection will be closed all weekend on August 15 and 16. And both the LaTrobe St and Bourke St intersections will be closed for five week-days from August 30 until September 3.
VicUrban’s Nic Culnane and John Christou from Yarra Trams have been conducting consultations with affected groups within Docklands.
At a breakfast meeting with the Docklands Chamber of Commerce, Mr Culnane said the closures were necessary to realign tram tracks into the centre of Harbour Esplanade.
Stage 1 of the Harbour Esplanade redevelopment would take the rest of the year to complete, with realignment of the tram tracks the first of a number of steps in the project.
Traffic will be diverted away from the Harbour Esplanade/Dudley St intersection from 8pm on Friday, August 14.
Trams will continue to use the intersection until 1am on Saturday, August 15.
The intersection will reopen at 5am on Monday, August 17.
NewQuay and Waterfront City traffic will be forced to use Waterfront Way and Pearl River Road from Footscray Rd while the intersection is closed.
Harbour Esplanade will be closed to traffic for five days from August 30 until September 3 while tram tracks are moved within both the LaTrobe St and Bourke St intersections.
Victoria Harbour traffic will need to skirt around the Bourke St closure via Batman’s Hill Drive and Collins St.
Mr Culnane said trams would be running on their new tracks on Saturday, September 4.
Docklands Chamber of Commerce president Keith Rankin praised VicUrban’s planning for the closures.
“It’s the best plan for major disruption in Docklands so far,” he said.
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