We’ve now upgraded approximately 2kms of water main along Royal Parade between Princes Park and Genetics Lane. The new main is connected to the network and is now servicing the Parkville community.

The final stage of the renewal process is permanent reinstatement works to leave the area tidy. From Monday 15 January, we’ll be completing work along Royal Parade and Bowen Crescent, marking lines on the road and adding topsoil to the nature strip. These works will take around two weeks to complete.

We’ll be working on Bowen Crescent between Pigdon Street and Holtom Street West between 7am and 5pm and on Royal Parade between the Inner Circle Rail Trail and Walker Street between 8am and 7pm.

Thank you for your patience and understanding while we’ve completed this essential upgrade. The new water main means that we can continue to deliver safe and reliable water services to the growing Parkville community.

As we progress towards completing this project, we’ll be working on Saturday 9 December and Saturday 16 December in the citybound service lane of Royal Parade between the Inner Circle Rail Trail and Walker Street. These works will be completed during the day between 7am and 5pm. During this time, we’ll be working to install fittings and an underground flow meter on the new pipe. 

Our work will also continue on Bowen Crescent between Holtom Street West and Pigdon Street during our weekday working hours between 7am and 5pm, Monday to Friday.

The project is on track to be complete in late 2023, with minor reinstatement works like restoring the nature strips to be completed over a few days in January 2024.

Our crews have successfully completed a period of overnight works on Royal Parade between College Crescent and Genetics Lane. All work zones south of Walker Street on Royal Parade have now been demobilised with minor reinstatement works to be conducted in the coming weeks.

We will have a continued site presence at Bowen Crescent and on Royal Parade between the Inner Circle Rail Trail and Walker Street to install a flow meter and associated fittings on the new pipe and complete final connection and reinstatement works.

From Monday 27 November, we will be occupying a section of the road along Bowen Crescent between Pigdon Street and Holtom Street West to conduct these works. The closure will be in place for approximately two weeks. Traffic management will be on site to help vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians move through the area safely.

In the coming weeks, our crews will continue to focus on:

• Installing remaining fittings and connecting the new water main to the network
• Testing and commissioning the new water main in sections along Royal Parade
• Completing permanent reinstatement works including asphalting and line marking along Royal Parade between Walker Street and Genetics Lane.

The project is on track to be completed in late 2023.

Our working hours will be changing during October and November due to tram network upgrades along Royal Parade.

From Sunday 22 October there will be overnight works from 7pm to 5am between College Crescent and Genetics Lane. These works will take around two weeks to complete.

From Wednesday 8 November, our weekday working hours in the citybound service lane of Royal Parade between Park Street and Walker Street will change to between 8am and 7pm, Monday to Friday.

Our work on Bowen Crescent between Holtom Street West and Pigdon Street will remain between 7am and 5pm, Monday to Friday.

During this time, our works will include:

• Installing remaining fittings and connecting the new water main to the network
• Installing a flow meter on the new pipe
• Testing the new water main in sections along Royal Parade
• Permanent reinstatement works on the road and line marking between Walker Street and Genetics Lane along Royal Parade.

It’s been an exciting month of milestones on the project. By mid-September our team had pushed and pulled an additional 1,020 metres of pipe through the existing water main, bringing our total distance to an impressive 2,020 metres.

We have successfully completed and reinstated sections of Royal Parade between MacArthur Road and Walker Street. The pipe stringing area between the Inner Circle Rail Trail and Ievers Street has also been packed up, allowing for additional carparking outside of working hours. This marks another significant achievement in our project's progress.

In the coming weeks, our crews will begin testing the new water main in sections and connecting it to the existing network, returning it to service. The project is on track to be completed by late 2023.

University of Melbourne site tour

During September we welcomed some engineering students from the University of Melbourne onto the site for a tour of the project. From the slip lining process to historic tree protection, students got a behind-the-scenes look into what it takes to renew a 134-year-old water main.

Our project partners, Fulton Hogan and Interflow, were excited to share their career insights and demonstrate their specialised skills for the students.

We’re three quarters of the way through excavation works and have begun installing the new water main along the Royal Parade service lane between the Inner Circle Rail Trail and College Crescent. Approximately 1,000 metres of pipe has already been installed via slip lining methodology. This method involves the insertion of the new pipe through the existing water main.

As works progress, you can expect to see our crews around College Crescent and Bowen Crescent as we excavate the launch and receival pits and install the remainder of the pipework along the service lane.

It might be hard to tell from the surface, but a lot has been happening underground along Royal Parade to upgrade and replace the water main.

In late June our crews began pushing and pulling a new pipeline through the existing 134-year-old water main using a process called slip lining. We chose this method as it’s safer, quicker and less disruptive than other main renewal methods, particularly as it requires no trenches.

The next stage of the project will be to pull approximately 2kms of new pipeline through the existing main from Park Street down to Genetics Lane.