New lanes open on $300M M80 Ring Road Upgrade

More than 13 kilometres of new lanes have been opened on Melbourne’s M80 Ring Road to reduce congestion and increase capacity of the road as part of the $300 million upgrade project.

A three-kilometre corridor has been widened on the road, turning from two lanes to four from Sunshine Avenue to the EJ Whitten Bridge and turning three lands to five across the EJ Whitten Bridge through to the Calder Freeway.

Around 200,000 drivers use the M80 Ring Road each day, including 22,000 trucks. Almost 1000 construction workers have laid 60,000 tonnes of asphalt, 36,000 tonnes of concrete and 4000 tonnes of steel as part of the upgrade.

Minister for Cities, Urban Infrastructure and Population Alan Tudge said the extra lanes reduced the need for drivers to merge and weave across traffic, improving safety and reliability.

“This upgrade has boosted capacity and will reduce congestion at bottlenecks along the M80 Ring Road, giving drivers a better trip between Sunshine Avenue and the Calder Freeway,” Mr Tudge said.

Victorian Minister for Roads and Road Safety Luke Donnellan said one of the key features of the upgrade was the complex widening of the existing EJ Whitten Bridge.

“At 50 metres high and 520 metres long, the EJ Whitten Bridge is the second highest road bridge in Victoria – our crews have joined the twin three lane carriageways together to create a single structure with five lanes in both directions,” Mr Donnellan said.

Victorian Senator James Paterson said a new, intelligent transport system is also being switched on to further improve journeys for drivers and help them get where they need to go.

“This includes overhead gantries, dynamic lane management and variable speed limit signs which will keep traffic flowing, even in busy periods,” Mr Paterson said.

Victorian Member for St Albans Natalie Suleyman said the upgrade will make a massive difference for locals who rely on the Ring Road every day.

“This upgrade cuts out those frustrating pinch points at Sunshine Avenue, Keilor Park Drive and the Calder Freeway and will improve traffic flow, especially in peak periods,” Ms Suleyman said.