A contract has been awarded to remove boom gates at two inner-west Melbourne level crossings. The alliance of Acciona, WSP, Metro Trains Melbourne and VIDA Rail will carry out work at Anderson Street in Yarraville and Hudsons Road in Spotswood. The state government says the Anderson Street crossing has seen one fatality and four serious injuries since 2006. The Yarraville project will close the western part of Anderson Street to traffic, create a pedestrian plaza and add parking. Construction starts next year, with completion due in 2029. The Hudsons Road crossing is expected to be removed by 2028.
Georgie Dragwidge, a South Melbourne Market stallholder known as the potato lady, is running again as an independent for the Albert Park seat in the Victorian Parliament. It is her second attempt after winning almost six per cent of the primary vote in 2022. Labor has held the seat since 1950, and sitting MP Nina Taylor is recontesting it. Dragwidge says she will campaign on the cost of living, community safety, mental health services and transport at Fishermans Bend. Her campaign budget is far smaller than those of the major parties.
A contract has been awarded to remove the Anderson Street and Hudsons Road level crossings in Melbourne's west. Construction is expected to begin in 2027 and finish in 2029. The project aims to improve safety and reduce delays in Yarraville and Spotswood. Two new accessible underpasses will maintain connections for pedestrians and cyclists. Plans also include new public space and additional car parking near Yarraville Village.
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A remembrance gathering was held below the West Gate Bridge in Spotswood to mark the 1970 collapse that killed 35 workers. Among the dead was George Tsihilidis, a 30-year-old boilermaker and Greek immigrant. His widow, Anna, said the family had saved for eight years for their home and now had no income. Survivor George Stasoulakos said he heard a noise, thought it was an earthquake, and swam through the mud to safety. A Royal Commission later identified structural design and construction process failures, leading to new workplace safety reforms in Victoria.
Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union Victoria State Secretary Tony Mavromatis has paid tribute to the 35 workers killed in the West Gate Bridge collapse on 15 October 1970. He said the tragedy must keep guiding workplace safety. Among the dead was 32-year-old Greek migrant boilermaker George Tsihilidis. Mavromatis said 222 workers died at Australian workplaces in 2025, a 13-year high, and called this unacceptable. Each year, unions and families gather at the West Gate Bridge Memorial Park in Spotswood to remember the victims.
Spotswood has signed former Northcote paceman Michael Edwards, one of the bigger signings of the Victorian Sub-District Cricket off-season. Edwards will open the bowling alongside Dan Schuppan, who took 40 wickets last summer. Captain Jakson Knight described Edwards as a huge inclusion. The club, which won its first VSDCA flag in 2022-23, also recruited left-arm off-spinner Jacob Pawlowicz and regained Taylor Tatterson. Martignago is fit again after a knee injury, and Knight and Martignago starred in a seven-run win over Strathmore on Saturday.
The Victorian Labor government has pledged $4 million for Spotswood Primary School's redevelopment, including new facilities like a gym and music room, if re-elected. This follows stage one upgrades completed between 2017 and 2021. Additionally, a $19.1 million redevelopment for Altona Green Primary School has been proposed, featuring new classrooms and specialist learning spaces. Both projects aim to enhance educational environments for students and communities in Hobsons Bay. The Liberal Party was approached for response.
