The Victorian government has announced various freeway closures across the state’s major freight routes over the next week.
Both the West Gate Freeway and the M80 Ring Road will be closed in differing ways from today onwards as road upgrade works begin.
Starting at 11pm tonight, citybound lanes will be closed this weekend on the West Gate Freeway as major works shift from the outbound lanes to the citybound lanes.
Final asphalting works will continue between Millers and Williamstown roads, with all citybound lands set to close between the two roads tonight to allow crews to set up the long-term lane changes.
The freeway is set to open at 7am tomorrow morning, but the far-left lanes will be closed and there’ll be no access from the inbound entries at Grieve Parade and Millers Road, or to the inbound exit at Williamstown Road.
Three citybound lanes will remain open, providing express travel from the Princes Freeway and M80 Ring Road to the West Gate Bridge.
Drivers travelling towards the city will need to make an earlier decision about the lane they use. Those wishing to reach Williamstown Road should take the earlier exit at Millers Road, then detour using Geelong Road or Blackshaws Road.
Anyone missing this earlier exit must continue over the West Gate Bridge, take the next exit and u-turn via Todd Road to make the return journey over the bridge to reach Williamstown Road.
Drivers in Brooklyn and Altona North wishing to enter the freeway can use the entry at Williamstown Road, the Princes Freeway from Kororoit Creek Road, or the M80 Ring Road at Boundary Road.
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From Sunday, the M80 Ring Road will also close, with congestion expected to build in Melbourne’s west over the next two weekends as capacity and safety works result in daytime freeway closures.
All Greensborough-bound lanes of the M80 Ring Road close between Boundary Road and the Western Freeway from 10pm tomorrow until 5am on Monday February 24. A similar closure will take place from Saturday March 1 to Monday March 3.
During peak periods, delays of over 30 minutes are expected on the freeway and on surrounding roads through Altona North, Brooklyn, Laverton North and Derrimut.
Drivers will exit at Boundary Road, then use Fitzgerald Road to return to the M80, or take Robinsons Road to reach the Western Freeway.
The outbound exit from the West Gate Freeway to the M80 Ring Road will also close Sunday, February 23 and Sunday March 2 from 8am to 10pm.
During this time, motorists on the West Gate Freeway who wish to reach the M80 should take an earlier exit at Millers Road or Grieve Parade, then detour through Brooklyn and Laverton North, or face a longer detour via the Princes Freeway.
Crews will work day and night to take advantage of the warm weather and lower traffic volumes, resurfacing the Greensborough-bound lanes of the freeway and paving the way for an extra lane to be constructed.
The M80 Capacity Improvements between the Princes Freeway and Western Freeway includes the addition of a Greensborough-bound lane, the installation of a smart freeway management system and ramp signals to improve traffic flow and incident management on the M80 Ring Road.
Real-time traffic conditions are available at traffic.transport.vic.gov.au. The latest public transport information and network status is available at ptv.vic.gov.au or in the PTV mobile app.
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