West Gate Freeway motorists advised on traffic changes -

West gate tunnel - freeway — Image courtesy of Victorian Government.

Motorists driving on the West Gate Freeway in Melbourne’s west are advised to prepare for changes in traffic conditions, starting July 23, as construction on the West Gate Tunnel Project ramps up.

The new changes will require drivers travelling outbound from the city to plan

routes earlier to avoid missing freeway exits.

Work on the West Gate Tunnel project is ramping up following the finalisation of the site to deposit soil from tunnel excavation, which had delayed the project by over a year.

The multi-billion-dollar transport project was meant to be finished next year, but the detection of per-and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the material excavated by the tunnel boring machines pushed the completion date to 2023.

The tunnel entries and exits are under construction and the tunnel boring machines are assembled to begin tunnelling soon.

The freeway lanes are being shifted to enable construction to commence on existing lanes, which will be rebuilt from the ground up.

The works will improve the freeway and provide an alternative route to the West Gate Bridge, taking thousands of trucks off residential streets

The below guideline from VicRoads shows what the new changes mean for drivers:

here are you going?

Which lane should you be in?

If you miss your exit – this is your next option

Grieve Parade exit

Stay in the far left lane after the Millers Road interchange

Travel via Princes Freeway, U-turn at Kororoit Creek Road and take the Geelong exit ramp to get to Grieve Parade.

M80 Ring Road

Stay in the two left lanes after the Miller Road interchange