One of Parkville's key local thoroughfares has fully reopened to vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians, in another big milestone for the Allan Labor Government's Metro Tunnel Project.
The final section of Grattan Street between Royal Parade and Leicester Street will make getting around Parkville easier for the thousands of medical staff, students, patients and family members who visit the area every day.
From mid-July, passengers on bus routes 401, 402, 403, 505 and 546 will benefit from direct routes and improved services - making it easier for people to get to work or study.
The street sits directly above the new Parkville Station, one of five state-of-the-art stations opening to passengers in 2025 and the second to have finished major construction.
Parkville Station will provide a rail connection for Victorians to the busy health and education precinct for the first time, with entrances on the doorstep of the Royal Melbourne Hospital, the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and Melbourne University.
Grattan Street was closed in 2018 for major construction on the station that is nearly 270 metres long, 30 metres wide and sits 30 metres below ground.
More than 500 workers have been busy preparing Grattan Street to reopen, laying around 6,000 tonnes of asphalt, widening footpaths, building separated bike lanes, more bike parking hoops, connecting utilities, planting over 100 trees and nearly 3000m2 of plants.
Passengers on the Cranbourne, Pakenham and Sunbury lines will have direct access to the new Parkville Station when it opens in 2025, with passengers on other metro lines able to make a single change to get there.
The Metro Tunnel will connect the busy Sunbury, Cranbourne and Pakenham lines via a new tunnel under the city, creating an end-to-end rail line from the north-west to the south-east, easing congestion in the City Loop and better connecting all Victorians to jobs, healthcare and education.
As stated by Minister for Transport Infrastructure Danny Pearson
"Melburnians will now have more ways to move around Parkville with Grattan Street reopened to traffic - and they will soon have the option to travel by train for the first time when the Metro Tunnel opens a year ahead of schedule in 2025."
"The Metro Tunnel is not just about transforming our rail network, it's also creating great public spaces and making streets safer for cyclists and pedestrians."
As stated by Minister for Public and Active Transport Gabrielle Williams
"We're delivering a public transport network with better connections between our trains, trams and buses - giving Victorians even more reasons to leave the car at home."
