Travel times have been slashed for drivers in Melbourne’s west with the completion of the Andrews Labor Government’s $1.8 billion-dollar Western Roads Upgrade.

Early estimates indicate the co-ordinated upgrades to eight main roads combined with level crossing removals in the west are delivering time savings of more than 20 per cent for local road users – helping people get where they need to go faster and making journeys smoother, safer and more reliable.

More than 1000 jobs were created to deliver the much-needed improvements, with crews recording over 4 million hours since the works began in 2018 on the biggest ever single investment in Melbourne’s road network.

It includes Leakes Road in Truganina, Dunnings Road and Palmers Road in Point Cook, Dohertys Road East in Laverton North, Dohertys Road West in Truganina, and the completion of the Duncans Road and the Forsyth Road Interchanges.

This targeted program of upgrades has increased capacity across the booming western suburbs road network, future proofing the needs of commuters and industry and improving the way people live in the west.

The recently opened Duncans Road interchange is now delivering improved journeys to world class tourist attractions such as Werribee Open Range Zoo, Werribee Mansion, the National Equestrian Centre and the Victorian State Rose Garden.

For example, a family travelling from Geelong to the Werribee Open Range Zoo will get there quicker, with a journey that was taking 54 minutes now reduced to 38 minutes.

During events in and around the Werribee tourist precinct, people leaving the vicinity could have previously been delayed by an hour just trying to get home.

The new interchange has been designed with this problem in mind, now with the finished interchange making it a lot safer and quicker to get people from K Road to the Princess Freeway.

The upgraded Princes Freeway entry ramp for Geelong-bound traffic was the latest improvement to the busy interchange, reducing congestion, increasing safety and making journeys more reliable.

A new four-lane bridge over the Princes Freeway has also been built, replacing the former two-lane bridge, while extra lanes and upgraded traffic lights have been added to the busy K Road and Duncans Road intersection to improve safety and traffic flow.

The Duncans Road interchange upgrade features more than 650 metres of new walking and cycling paths, while the Federation Trail is promoting active, healthy transport options with uninterrupted connections to local schools and the CBD.

A program to repair and resurface 37 roads between Footscray and Werribee was also delivered as part of the Western Roads Upgrade, incorporating recycled and reused materials under the Andrews Labor Government’s Recycled First Program.

The Western Roads Upgrade was delivered by Major Road Projects Victoria, in partnership with Netflow. The program also includes a 20-year maintenance contract with Netflow, which guarantees the ongoing care of 260 kilometres of road from Footscray to Werribee

Quotes attributable to Member for Werribee Tim Pallas

“We have already seen this vital upgrade bust congestion on the Duncans Road interchange for the thousands of drivers that use it daily.”

“The overall completion of the Western Roads upgrade will provide better access for locals to shops and jobs, supporting one of the fastest growing communities in Victoria.”