The state government has opened more than 300 temporary car spaces for commuters at Tottenham Station as works continue to escalate as part of the Melbourne Airport Rail project.
The works have included the delivery of the 300 extra car spaces at Rupert Street in Tottenham on Friday, March 31 to reduce the impact on rail passengers while critical work is carried out at the Sunshine and Albion stations, with car parks at both stations over the next two years.
While the car parks at the Sunshine and Albion stations remained partially or fully closed, the Melbourne Airport Rail team would carefully monitor the Tottenham site and put measures in place to assist pedestrians, passengers, residents, vehicles and construction machinery using the temporary car park, incuding traffic management plans and signage.
Footscray MP Katie Hall said the new car spaces would aim to limit the impact on commuters and residents in the area.
“We thank the community for their patience as we get on with delivering this highly anticipated project,” she said.
From March 17 to March 19, teams worked constantly to complete a range of works, including the demolition of the rail bridge over Stony Creek and the installation of drainage.
Other works included laying the foundations for the new airport rail tracks, moving utility services and installing communications, power and service cables.
As part of the new project, trains would run from Melbourne Airport through to Sunshine Station, then into the Metro Tunnel and the heart of the CBD.
A construction consortium of FCC Construction Australia and Winslow Infrastructure has been selected as the preferred contractor to deliver key parts of the project, including the approximately 550-metre twin track rail bridge over the Maribyrnong River Valley, which will stand more than 50 metres above the valley at its highest point, making it the second highest bridge in Victoria after the West Gate Bridge.