Sections of major CBD roads will be closed for up to five years as work gets under way to build the Melbourne Metro Rail tunnel.
By February next year, Franklin Street will be closed between Swanston and Victoria streets. And A'Beckett Street will close between Swanston and Stewart streets.
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Metro Tunnel work beginning in 2017
Victorian government releases a video animation showcasing the first major works for the tunnel. (Video supplied by Melbourne Metro Rail)
These closures will remain in place for five years so the new CBD North Station can be built.
Parking will be removed near intersections on Latrobe Street between Exhibition and King streets in an effort to improve the flow of traffic.
During the morning peak an eastbound no-stopping zone will be introduced on Victoria Street between Leicester and Nicholson streets.
The Melbourne Metro Rail project includes a nine-kilometre tunnel with five new stations, which the government says will unlock capacity across the system and ease pressure on the City Loop.
A section of Domain Road will be closed in late April from St Kilda Road to Edmund Herring Oval to allow for the construction of the new Domain Station in South Yarra.
St Kilda Road will be cut to just one lane each way between Domain and Toorak roads for up to three years. But tram, pedestrian and bike access will continue as usual.
Public Transport Minister Jacinta Allan said there would be a "huge impact" on the city while the Melbourne Metro tunnel is built but insisted the project would deliver major improvements.
"The Metro tunnel will make a real difference to people's lives, wherever they live," she said. "It means less time waiting on platforms or stuck on the train."
The project will connect the Sunbury Line to the Cranbourne-Pakenham Line. The five new underground stations will include Arden in North Melbourne, Parkville, CBD North, CBD South and Domain in South Yarra.
The Melbourne Metro tunnel is expected to open in 2026.