West Gate chaos as Melburnians escape city during maintenance works
Melbourne motorists escaping the city are facing a new year of traffic jams as maintenance works cause lane closures and long delays.
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Drivers face a New Year filled with long tailbacks and traffic jams as construction on the West Gate Bridge causes long delays.
Maintenance work on the freeway will cause a headache for Melburnians escaping the city for getaways with lane closures resulting in delays of up to an hour.
The annual West Gate roadworks kicked off on Boxing Day and will continue until January 6.
Traffic on the West Gate was tailed back for several kilometres on Sunday due to annual maintenance work and holiday-makers flocking to the Surf Coast from the city.
Three out of five outbound lanes are closed as part of the works and speed limits on the bridge have been reduced to 40km/h.
Motorists travelling into Melbourne on the West Gate Freeway also face long delays due to construction, with overnight closures affecting inbound lanes.
Road users have been urged to be patient with the Department of Transport advising motorists to plan for significant delays until the works are complete.
Meanwhile, the freeway will be closed in both directions from January 6 to 11 at Grieve Parade while an overpass is demolished.
“Inbound and outbound West Gate Freeway traffic will detour via Geelong and Millers roads while Altona-bound M80 Ring Road motorists will exit early at Boundary Road with delays of up to 60 minutes expected,” a Department of Transport alert advised.
From January 11, ramps connecting Princes Freeway and Geelong Road, as well as the M80 ramp to the West Gate Freeway inbound, will be closed as space is made for extra lanes on the West Gate.
Delays of up to 30 minutes are expected for motorists during these works, with detours via Millers Road and the West Gate Freeway for Geelong Road and Princes Freeway commuters.
Drivers on the M80 Ring Road can get on the West Gate Freeway via detours through Boundary, Little Boundary and Geelong roads.
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