By Mark Macdonald
Bunbury Street was once a quiet little suburban street now transformed into a cut-and-cover tunnel.
In the 1920s, Victorian Railways embarked on a major project to improve the flow of freight and passenger trains through Melbourne’s western suburbs. The solution was to separate and add a new goods line from South Kensington to West Footscray. This bypassed the busy Footscray Junction and the goods yard and shipping sheds south of Dynon Road.
The construction involved a significant undertaking, starting west of Footscray, dipping under the existing rail line, and culminating in a tunnel under Bunbury Street itself. This tunnel was built using the cut-and-fill method and lined with concrete. Another smaller cutting on the eastern side led onto a steel bridge over the Maribyrnong River.
The project was massive, requiring the removal of 200,000 cubic metres of bluestone rock and soil, and a whopping 27,000 tonnes of concrete were poured for the tunnel lining. The new line, including the Bunbury Street tunnel, was officially opened on 21st October 1928.
