Latest plans released for Anzac Station

The latest plans for Anzac Station and surrounds have been revealed, showing more trees saved in the iconic St Kilda Rd precinct and better accessibility. The local community can see the latest draft Domain (Anzac Station) Precinct Development Plan and provide their comments online until October 13 at engage.vic.gov.au. Updates to the plan incorporate stakeholder feedback and include retaining 16 more trees than the previous plan, reducing the station’s footprint within the Shrine of Remembrance Reserve and moving the South African Soldier’s Memorial to a prominent spot in the Albert Road Reserve.   The plan also shows the revised layout for St Kilda Rd that was revealed earlier this year, with two traffic lanes, a permanent parking lane and kerbside bike lanes to keep cyclists and pedestrians safer.   There will be an additional shelter for southbound tram customers at the southern end of the platform and better access for pedestrians and people with disabilities in and around the entire precinct.  The station has been excavated under St Kilda Rd as two separate “boxes”, separated by an underground retaining wall reinforced with 36mm steel bars.  The north box was built below the acoustic shed – used to contain noise and dust from construction – while the south box was built in two stages underneath St Kilda Rd, across the road from Melbourne Grammar School.  St Kilda Rd’s traffic lanes and tram tracks have twice been realigned as part of the construction plan, which has allowed the next-generation station to be built underground while traffic and trams continued using the road above.  Construction began with the north box, which was excavated first to create a launch site for two of the project’s tunnel boring machines (TBMs), Millie and Alice, to tunnel towards the eastern tunnel entrance in South Yarra.  Crews set 20-metre-deep walls into the ground and built a roof slab for the south box, alongside nearby apartments and office blocks, before St Kilda Rd was moved to sit on top of the completed box.   Almost 40,000 people a day are expected to use Anzac Station to get to business precincts and growing residential areas, as well as major cultural destinations such as the Shrine of Remembrance, the Royal Botanic Gardens and the Arts Centre.    Anzac Station will take the pressure off the St Kilda Rd/Swanston St tram route – the busiest tram route in the world. An integrated tram interchange and a pedestrian underpass will also allow commuters to move easily between transport modes and safely cross into the Shrine of Remembrance grounds and Albert Road Reserve.    Once complete in 2025, the Metro Tunnel will create capacity for more than half-a-million extra passengers a week during peak times across Melbourne’s train network • For more information visit: metrotunnel.vic.gov.au