M80 Ring Road Upgrade To Make EJ Whitten Bridge Wider And Safer
The Andrews Labor Government is continuing to deliver on its promise to ease congestion and improve safety on Victoria’s roads, with an extension of the M80 Ring Road Upgrade from Sunshine Avenue to east of EJ Whitten Bridge.
Minister for Roads and Roads Safety, Luke Donnellan, today joined Member for Sydenham, Natalie Hutchins, at the EJ Whitten Bridge to announce the next stage of the project, which includes strengthening and widening the bridge to create more traffic lanes.
The upgrade will also include new public safety barriers – which the community has long been campaigning for – and temporary barriers will also be installed during construction.
Expressions of Interest will be sought in August, with the contract expected to be awarded early in 2016 and construction planned to commence in mid-2016.
This stage of the project will support the Victorian economy by creating almost 1000 direct and indirect jobs.
The Labor Government provided $150 million in the 2015-16 Victorian to upgrade between Sunshine Avenue to east of the EJ Whitten Bridge.
The Sunshine Avenue and Keilor Park drive interchanges will be widened to allow more traffic to enter and exit the freeway, with new signals on the Greensborough-bound entry ramp at Sunshine Avenue to ensure safer merging.
The bottleneck at Sunshine Avenue, where traffic merges from four lanes to two, will be removed by the works, reducing travel times and increasing safety for pedestrians and cyclists.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Roads and Road Safety, Luke Donnellan
“The upgrade will ease congestion, cut travel times and make the commute safer and more reliable for the 160,000 drivers using the freeway every day.”
“We’re getting on with the projects that Victoria needs, so people spend less time stuck in traffic and more time at home with their families.”
Quotes attributable to the Member for Sydenham, Natalie Hutchins
“The community has campaigned for safety barriers on EJ Whitten Bridge. We’ve listened, and we’re building them. Permanent barriers will be put in place, with temporary ones to be installed during construction.”
“More than 330 people were hurt and four people died driving on the M80 Ring Road in a five year period. That’s not good enough. We’re making this upgrade to make this road safer.”