St Kilda Junction
Encyclopedia
Intersection (road)
An intersection is a road junction where two or more roads either meet or cross at grade . An intersection may be 3-way - a T junction or fork, 4-way - a crossroads, or 5-way or more...
in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It is located in the suburb of St Kilda
St Kilda, Victoria
St Kilda is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 6 km south from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Port Phillip...
, and bordering Windsor
Windsor, Victoria
Windsor is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 5 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Stonnington. At the 2006 Census, Windsor had a population of 6394....
, Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
and St Kilda East, and is the meeting point of the major roads Punt Road, St Kilda Road, Dandenong Road/Queens Way/Princes Highway and Fitzroy Street.
History
As late as 1966, St Kilda Junction, along with the Royal Parade Roundabout, was one of two giant roundabouts with tramsTrams in Melbourne
The Melbourne tramway network is a major form of public transport in Melbourne, the capital city of the state of Victoria, Australia. , the network consisted of of track, 487 trams, 28 routes, and 1,773 tram stops. It was therefore the largest urban tramway network in the world, ahead of the...
running through them in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
.
St Kilda Junction in 1966 was an intersection between eight streets and three metropolitan traffic routes. These were, listed clockwise, starting from the southboundmost:
- Punt Road (Route 29; major thoroughfare)
- Nelson Street (residential street)
- Wellington Street (Route 1; trams; major thoroughfare)
- High Street (Route 3; trams; major thoroughfare)
- Barkly Street (Route 29; minor thoroughfare)
- Fitzroy Street (Trams; minor thoroughfare to St KildaSt Kilda, VictoriaSt Kilda is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 6 km south from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Port Phillip...
Beach) - Queens Road (minor thoroughfare)
- St Kilda RoadSt Kilda Road, MelbourneSt Kilda Road is a street in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is part of the locality of Melbourne which has the postcode of 3004 and along with Swanston Street forms a major spine of the city....
(Routes 1 and 3; trams; major thoroughfare with service roads on either side)
The intersection took the form of a large oval roundabout with another road link in the middle between the close edges. The trams from St Kilda Road
St Kilda Road, Melbourne
St Kilda Road is a street in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is part of the locality of Melbourne which has the postcode of 3004 and along with Swanston Street forms a major spine of the city....
traversed most of the intersection before splitting into three paths. Things were made all the more difficult by the fact that Queens Road joined the intersection at the point where the left service road of St Kilda Road
St Kilda Road, Melbourne
St Kilda Road is a street in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is part of the locality of Melbourne which has the postcode of 3004 and along with Swanston Street forms a major spine of the city....
left it.
In the late 1960s, the state Bolte
Henry Bolte
Sir Henry Edward Bolte GCMG was an Australian politician. He was the 38th and longest serving Premier of Victoria.- Early years :...
government proposed plans for a major overhaul of the intersection. This ultimately led to its existing form.
Queens Road was rerouted slightly so it would enter the roundabout in the middle of its long side. It was then lowered and built under the rest of the intersection and joined a new street, Queens Way, which led into Dandenong Road (as Wellington Street did before it.) Queens Way also took Wellington Street's tram service. Route 1 (or Alt 1, as it became when the Monash Freeway
Monash Freeway
Monash Freeway is an urban freeway in Victoria, Australia linking Melbourne's CBD to its southeastern suburbs and the Gippsland region. The entire stretch of the Monash Freeway bears the designation...
was built) was rerouted down Queens Road-Queens Way-Dandenong Road because it was much easier for traffic to pass the junction this way than from St Kilda Road. High street was widened and became known as the southern part of St Kilda Road
St Kilda Road, Melbourne
St Kilda Road is a street in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is part of the locality of Melbourne which has the postcode of 3004 and along with Swanston Street forms a major spine of the city....
. Passing through junction on the major thoroughfares was now easier in most cases, but also impossible in others. For example one could not go from Queens Way (heading west) to Punt Road anymore. Instead, one has to drive to the first right turn on Queens Road (Union Street) to access St Kilda Rd or Punt Road.
The trams were also realigned. The tramline was lowered to halfway between the first and second levels in the centre of the junction, with trams able from there to reascend and continue down St Kilda Road
St Kilda Road, Melbourne
St Kilda Road is a street in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is part of the locality of Melbourne which has the postcode of 3004 and along with Swanston Street forms a major spine of the city....
or turn into Fitzroy Street, or descend further and turn into Queens Way. Overall, the junction expanded slightly, and taking in the points of intersection of all original streets, the junction now encompasses twelve streets. The tramline once diverted around the old Junction Hotel, a grand Coffee Palace
Coffee Palace
The term Coffee Palace was primarily used in Australia to describe the temperance hotels which were built during the period of the 1880s although there are references to the term also being used, to a lesser extent, in the United Kingdom...
, which remained for some time before it was eventually demolished and became part of the median strip.
The St Kilda Junction is also the location of one of Melbourne's well loved suburban football/cricket ovals, the St Kilda Cricket Ground
Junction Oval
The Junction Oval is an historic sports ground in the suburb of St Kilda in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its location near the St Kilda Junction gave rise to its nickname...
, which is affectionately known as the Junction Oval. Some of the parkland surrounding the Junction Oval
Junction Oval
The Junction Oval is an historic sports ground in the suburb of St Kilda in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its location near the St Kilda Junction gave rise to its nickname...
was relinquished in the Queens Rd realignment, but the original oval itself and the indigenous heritage Corroboree tree remained intact.
