Another instalment in my photos from ten years ago series – this time it is June 2010.
A different skyline
The skyline west end of the Melbourne CBD was much emptier.
Melbourne Star observation wheel still in pieces.
Nothing behind Southern Cross Station.
Or Docklands Stadium.
Worries of flammable cladding yet to come.
The asbestos filled Spencer Street Power Station was gone, with a display suite for the ‘Upper West Side’ development occupying the site.
The $550 million development was completed in 2016, with 2,207 apartments across four towers.
And over at Spotswood, VicTrack had started cleaning up a similarly contaminated railway yard.
The soil contaminated with arsenic, copper, lead and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons was entombed beneath a concrete slab, at what is now a rail freight depot for Sadleirs Transport.
The former Royal Dental Hospital had also been turned into a big hole.
The Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre was built on the site, opening in 2016.
But the Royal Women’s Hospital was still there.
It lay empty for another decade, until recently demolished for a $425 million University of Melbourne expansion.
Transport
On 6 June 2010 the ribbon was cut on a brand new railway station – Coolaroo on the Craigieburn line, between Broadmeadows and Roxburgh Park.
With then-Premier John Brumby and Minister for Public Transport Martin Pakula in attendance.
Over at Southern Cross Station the platforms were covered in artificial grass.
As part of Dairy Farmers’ “City to Country” campaign for yoghurt.
2010 saw new trains finally arriving on the Melbourne rail network to address peak time crowding, but there was nowhere to park them at night.
So a $12 million stabling yard at Newport was under construction.
But even bigger money was also being spent on road projects – work was underway on the $371 million West Gate Bridge Strengthening project.
With a web of scaffolding erected beneath the bridge.
The work reinforced the bridge to carry five lanes in each direction, following the narrowing of traffic lanes from 3.5m to 3.1m wide, with a 0.5m shoulder.
And a holiday related footnote
I headed over to South Australia on holiday.
Where I found The Overland passing through Mount Lofty.
Making a trip down to Victor Harbor for the horse tramway.
And the SteamRanger tourist railway.
And going for a ride on their clapped out diesel suburban trains.
But the South Australian Government was busy spruiking their upcoming public transport investments.
Footnote
Here you can find the rest of my ‘photos from ten years ago‘ series.
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