Perth City Link
Perth City Link is an urban renewal and redevelopment project under construction in Perth, Western Australia.
The project, bounded by the Mitchell Freeway, Wellington Street, the Horseshoe Bridge and Roe Street, is being conducted on what was formerly land involved in the Perth/City railway yard and dedicated railway property west of the Perth railway station. The land was used from the 1880s until the late 1990s by the railways, and by the time of early proposals for the project was no longer being used by the railway.[1][2]
The project involves the sinking of the Fremantle railway line and Wellington Street Bus Station and the subsequent development of the 13.5 hectares of land reclaimed.[3]
Transport
Rail
The $360 million rail project was the first stage of the Perth City Link. The scope of works included:
- Sinking the Fremantle line between William Street and Lake/King Street. This created almost 600m of a new covered section of the Fremantle line.
- Upgrading Perth Station with new tiling, lighting and services and converting the existing Platform 9 into an island Platform 8/9.
- Creating a new tunnel under the northern end of the Barrack Street Bridge to service the new Platform 9.
- Extending the existing Joondalup line tunnel roof from Lake Street to Milligan Street to be in line with the new Fremantle line tunnel.
- Creating a new pedestrian underpass connecting Perth Underground Station to all the platforms at Perth Station.
Work commenced in 2010 with the project initially scheduled for completion in mid-2014. By early 2013 it became apparent that the project was running almost 6 months ahead of schedule,[4] with the completion date now advertised as early 2014.[5]
Tunnelling officially commenced on 31 January 2012, with Premier Colin Barnett, Transport Minister Troy Buswell, Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi and Senator Louise Pratt (representing Federal Infrastructure Minister Anthony Albanese) taking part in a ceremony in which several documents were placed in a time capsule and buried at the station, to be unearthed in 2031.[6]
After a major 6 day shutdown, trains began running through the new tunnel on 18 July 2013.
The final part of the project, the pedestrian underpass, was officially opened on 19 December 2013, signalling the completion of the rail project, 6 months ahead of schedule.
Bus
The $249 million Perth Busport is the second stage of the Perth City Link. It involves the demolition of the Wellington Street Bus Station which opened in 1973, and the construction of Australia's first dynamic stand allocation underground bus station in the same location, expected to open in 2016. During construction, services will operate from two temporary bus stations. The Roe Street Bus Station will account for approximately 75% of the displaced services, and opened on 12 January 2014. A second temporary station will be constructed adjacent to Wellington Street following demolition of the existing station. It is expected to open in April 2014.[7][8]
Precincts
The Arena
Located at the western end of the site, this precinct centres around the Perth Arena.
King-Lake Street
In late January 2014 Leighton Properties started construction on the King Square precinct which will lie on the former Perth Entertainment Centre site. Four buildings have already started constructed housing the offices for Shell Australia, John Holland Group, HBF and a fourth yet to be announced. The buildings (along with the precinct) are expected to be completed by 2015.
Yagan Square
Yagan Square, named after the indigenous warrior, will be a 1-hectare (2.5-acre) public space located between the arms of the Horseshoe Bridge. Construction is expected to begin in mid-2015, with the public opening planned for 2017.[9][10][11]
References
- ↑ Worley (Firm); Perth (W.A. : Municipality). Council (2003), Perth Yard railway lowering concept : Mitchell Freeway to Perth Central Station : report for preliminary design of option A, Worley, retrieved 3 June 2014
- ↑ "A sinking vision for Perth rail.(Local)", The Australian (National, Australia) (News Limited), 2003-03-06: 004, retrieved 3 June 2014
- ↑ "Perth City Link: Reconnecting the City". Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority. Retrieved 2012-06-28.
- ↑ Kerr, Peter (2013-03-25). "City Link on time and budget". The West Australian. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
- ↑ "April 2013 works update". Perth City Link Rail Alliance. Archived from the original on 10 April 2013. Retrieved 2013-04-10.
- ↑ "Work begins on $360m city link project". PerthNow. 2012-01-31. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
- ↑ "About the city link bus project (Public Transport Authority).". Retrieved December 16, 2013.
- ↑ "Get The Bigger Picture (Perth City Link)". Retrieved December 16, 2013.
- ↑ "Explore Yagan Square". Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
- ↑ "Historic lakes inspire design for Yagan Square". Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
- ↑ Bonnie Christian (14 November 2014). "Government unveils $73m Yagan Square design for Perth city link". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 15 November 2014.