Childers St reopened to traffic

A Kensington street is open to traffic for the first time in more than three years in another sign of progress on the Metro Tunnel Project.

Childers St is flowing with traffic for the first time since January 2019, when it was closed to allow for the safe construction of the western entrance to the Metro Tunnel.

The street, which runs alongside where trains will enter the Metro Tunnel from 2025, reopened on April 28.

The reopening means the current detour for over-height vehicles via Tennyson St and Derby St is no longer in place and access to residential properties on Childers St via Kensington Rd has been reinstated.

The temporary boom gates on Tennyson St have also been removed and the road barrier reinstated, returning the local road network to its state prior to work starting on the Metro Tunnel Project.

Pedestrians and cyclists still have access at all times.

The reopening of Childers St comes as works on the Metro Tunnel continue in Kensington, including the widening of the rail corridor to accommodate the new tracks.

This will allow for trains to enter the western entrance of the tunnel and continue through to the project’s five new underground stations.

Workers are preparing to lay the first track rail through the completed nine-kilometre twin tunnels in a major step forward for the project.

Before the tracks can be laid, workers will first install 4000 concrete panels along the floor of the tunnels. These concrete supports create an even base to lay the rail on and ensure it is properly aligned.

Crews will then start laying track at State Library Station and work towards the western tunnel entrance. Once that section is completed, they will return to State Library Station and continue laying rail towards the eastern tunnel entrance in South Yarra.

This will take about a year to complete and will be followed by the huge task of testing the tunnel and systems, which is expected to begin in 2023.

Mechanical, electrical and plumbing fit-out works inside the twin tunnels between Kensington and the new State Library Station are also nearing completion.

When finished, the Metro Tunnel will create capacity for more than a half-a-million additional passengers per week to travel during peak times across Melbourne’s train network •

For more information: bigbuild.vic.gov.au/projects/metro-tunnel