One of Melbourne’s most popular bike routes—Canning Street—will re-open from this Friday.
Contractors have finished their work installing the new M205 Carlton water main for City West Water along the street.
Work started on the project in August last year and riders have patiently been wending and winding their way through various detours as the construction team slowed marched its way north along the street.
The fresh asphalt is looking very smooth indeed, and is a fitting reward for the inconvenience suffered.
The new main replaced the ancient, leaky pipe that ran under Nicholson Street.
The construction detoured southbound riders to Rathdowne Street during the construction along with a small detour of the Capital City Trail (CCT) with a temporary bike path installed as a substitute for the trail during the works.
The upgrades included the widening of a section of the Capital City Trail and a drinking fountain installed for trail users.
Some of the crossovers on Canning Street, at Curtain Street and Lee Street and Princes Street, have been widened and improved to accommodate larger groups of southbound cyclists and bike hoops will be installed at the Neill Street reserve.
Note that a section of Canning Street between Elgin and Neill Street, Carlton will have the final asphalt re-sheet completed by the City of Melbourne in the coming months.
And there is more to look forward to with authorities looking at improving the rider experience at the intersections at Elgin and Pinces Streets, where there is insufficient capacity to handle the crush of bike traffic in normal-times peak periods.