Ferguson Street to close, buses replace trains on Williamstown line

Ferguson Street will be closed at the North Williamstown level crossing. (Supplied) 247419_01

Goya Dmytryshchak

Ferguson Street will be closed at the North Williamstown level crossing for up to six weeks from Sunday.

The state government announced the closure on Friday, as work begins on removing the level crossing by lowering the rail line under the road.

Buses will replace trains on the Williamstown Line between Newport and Williamstown from 8.30pm on Friday, August 20 until the last train on Friday, November 12.

Changes have been made to bus routes 472 from Williamstown to Moonee Ponds via Footscray and 415 from Laverton Station to Williamstown via Altona.

Passengers are advised to visit the Public Transport Victoria website to plan their journeys.

Vehicle detours will be in place via Victoria Street, Osborne Street, Giffard Street and Melbourne Road.

Real-time traffic conditions will be available at traffic.vicroads.vic.gov.au or via the VicTraffic mobile app.

Pedestrian access will be maintained during works.

The level crossing will be removed ahead of schedule by the end of the year.

It was originally slated for removal in 2022.

Lowering the rail line under Ferguson Street had been Hobsons Bay council’s and the community’s preferred option.

The project will include a new North Williamstown station with lowered platforms, plaza areas and landscaping.

More than 110 trains and 25,000 vehicles pass through the crossing each week day, according to government figures.

The crossing was the scene of a double fatality in the 1990s and has had five near-miss incidents in the past decade.

Public transport users and drivers can find out if they are affected by the works at bigbuild.vic.gov.au