Welcome to the first weekly update for 2024. I hope everyone had a lovely relaxing break.
This year we’ll be looking to finish work in a number of the surface areas around the site and I’m sure everyone is looking forward to our site shrinking as we move along.
Below is the update of works happening around site.
PROGRESS UPDATE: Overnight Works – St Kilda Road final asphalt layer
Works kicked off this week to apply the final layer of asphalt on the southbound lane – It was a somewhat slow start earlier this week with the final layer of asphalt on St Kilda Road, Sunday was rained off and some lightning in the area put a stop to Mondays shift. Regardless, the team managed to complete the section from the pedestrian crossing in front of the Royce Hotel through to Toorak Road.
Tonight the team are aiming to complete the section of southbound road from the pedestrian crossing to the Anzac Station tram stop, through to the pedestrian crossing in front of the Royce Hotel.
Next week we’ll be again working overnight and will start the northbound (city bound) section of St Kilda Road, working progressively from Toorak Road towards Bowen Lane. We’ll also be shifting traffic barriers on the southbound lane in the areas where we’ve completed asphalting.
St Kilda Road Footpath
Western Side of St Kilda Road
The footpath in front of Botanic now has fresh asphalt laid and is reopen to the public, this means we’ll be able to get in in and complete the garden beds, road, kerb and bike lane through this section. See above for the details on the asphalting plans for the northbound lane and separated bike lanes.
Next week the south-west pedestrian crossing to the tram stop (in front of 390 St Kilda Road) will close to allow us to lay the final asphalt and install the permanent tactiles.
In the coming weeks the works will shift to the reconstruction of the footpath between Bowen Lane and Albert Road, we’ll have more information in the upcoming February construction notice on how these works will be staged.
Station Fit out
Downstairs in the station, works are primarily focussed on the front of house fitout for the new station, the myki gates are ready to install, and the construction of the retail spaces within the station are well underway. No news as yet on potential new tenants for these spaces, but the spaces themselves are coming along with the relevant electrical and plumbing fitout.
Albert Road legacy construction
Speaking of final asphalt layers, this week we’ve managed to progressively lay the final layer of asphalt on Albert Road. Over the next few weeks we’ll apply the finishing touches on the roadway that connects Albert Road through to the Ramsay Clinic and 1 Albert Road. This will allow us to open this final legacy roadway and start works on the parkland and South African Soldiers Memorial in Albert Reserve.
Albert Road Reserve forecourt and Station Entrance (Works until 1am)
The canopy is up for this entrance and it is now surrounded in scaffolding, allowing the team to work on completing the roof of the new Albert Road Reserve Station Entrance. Right alongside this is the construction of the two lifts for the station entrance. The round precast concrete is for the new pedestrian lift and the rectangular section is for the goods lift to service the new station. As I type, the roof for the pedestrian lift is waiting to be lifted into place. Works will continue next week on the shafts, before we move onto the fitout of the internal lift mechanisms.
Meanwhile, the works are nearly done for the underground services next to the station entrance, this will allow us to start laying the second lane of St Kilda Road between the Albert Road Reserve entrance and the central tram platform. We’ll be doing a bit of shuffling of traffic lanes adjacent to the tram stop in the coming weeks. As we complete the new outer lanes, we’ll put traffic onto it, which will allow us to work on the small median sections that sit between tram tracks and the road lanes.
Eastern site – Shrine Entrance and Domain Road (Works until 1am)
There is a lot of action over at the Shrine of Remembrance side of the job, the scaffolding around the eastern station entrance has come down and anyone who has walked through the pedestrian walkway near Melbourne Grammar School may have had a chance to have a nice close up look at how it is shaping up. Speaking of this pedestrian walkway, its days are numbered as we are preparing to close it in order to continue our works on the reinstatement of Domain Road.
In its place we’ll have a new pedestrian connection that will run alongside the southbound lane of St Kilda Road, effectively connecting the footpath at the corner of Melbourne Grammar School, to the pedestrian crossing at Park Street. We’re aiming to have the new connection open next week, before we close the old crossing the week after, just to give everyone a chance to get used to the new arrangement. Those with a view over the site will have seen the new strip of asphalt going down today, this will be the final alignment of outer lane of St Kilda Road southbound through this section, while the separated bike lane will serve as a temporary footpath until the dual lane setup is commissioned. I’ve included an aerial photo where you can see the existing pedestrian walkway on the far right of the image, and the black asphalt of the new route being built today.
Have a great weekend,
Rob
The Botanica 
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