An artist’s impression of the intersection of London Circuit and Commonwealth Avenue on the light rail Stage 2A route to Commonwealth Park. Image: ACT Government.
Early works for the next stage of light rail have begun, as the ACT Government opens a competitive two-stage tender process for the raising of London Circuit to create a level intersection with Commonwealth Avenue.
The work to relocate utilities will mean a section of London Circuit will be closed for five days from this Friday.
The ACT Government says it will also necessitate changes to public parking access and minor temporary traffic changes in the city.
London Circuit between Constitution Avenue and Edinburgh Avenue will be closed temporarily from after the evening peak on Friday to Tuesday 28 September.
Traffic diversions will be in place, re-routing drivers into the city via Vernon Circle and along Edinburgh and Constitution Avenues.
A construction site compound has also been established in the car park on the corner of London Circuit and Constitution Avenue with some loss of car parks, but about 400 parking spaces – including disability parking – remain available.
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Minister for Transport and City Services Chris Steel said the quiet time on Canberra’s roads was a good time to get on with the relocation of critical water and communications utilities assets in preparation for major construction works to raise London Circuit and deliver Stage 2 of light rail, firstly to Commonwealth Park, and then on to Woden.
“As we get on with the work of building a better public transport system, Canberrans can now expect to see early works beginning at the southern end of the CBD,” Mr Steel said.
“Work has now started on moving underground utilities from their current position along London Circuit to a new alignment on Constitution Avenue, Vernon Circle and Edinburgh Avenue.”
“By doing this work now, it reduces the risk of damage to critical utilities when we start the main construction work on raising London Circuit in 2022, and following that, building stations and laying tracks.”
These utility relocations are expected to take about nine months, with further temporary changes to local traffic arrangements expected at various times throughout this phase of work.
Any further changes will be published as new works notifications at Light Rail to Woden.
The first stage of the tender process is seeking expressions of interest from pre-qualified construction companies and closes on 14 October.
Responses will be evaluated and a shortlist of providers will then be invited to participate in the Request for Tender process later in the year.
Canberrans can expect more significant impacts on traffic, public transport and active travel routes to and from the city when the London Circuit main construction works begin in 2022.
“Raising London Circuit up to the same level of Commonwealth Avenue will create people-oriented streets, providing better connections for pedestrians, cyclists and public transport,” Mr Steel said.
More information on light rail to Woden is available at Light Rail to Woden.
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