West Gate Bridge detours from Boxing Day
Holiday-makers and commuters are urged to plan ahead and allow for an extra hour of travel as West Gate Bridge maintenance works ramp up from Saturday.
Geelong
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Holiday-makers and commuters are urged to plan ahead and allow for an extra hour of travel as West Gate Bridge maintenance works ramp up from Saturday.
Work will begin from 9pm on Boxing Day until January 6, with crews delivering works to prevent rusting and deliver smoother travel for motorists.
To ensure the works can be carried out as safely and efficiently as possible, three of the five Melbourne outbound lanes will be closed while overnight closures will also impact inbound lanes.
Speed limits will be reduced to 40km/h in both directions on the bridge for the entirety of the works.
The works will create a smoother transition from road to bridge by raising concrete slab beams on the eastern approach, as well as waterproofing to prevent steel from rusting.
West Gate Tunnel works will also progress in the new year as West Gate Freeway bridges at Grieve Parade and Geelong Road are rebuilt and reinforced.
The freeway will close in both directions at Grieve Parade from 9pm on January 6 until 5am on January 11 as crews demolish the overpass before rebuilding it to allow for two extra lanes each way.
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.
For six weeks, starting on January 11, crews will also reconstruct bridges and make room for extra lanes on the West Gate Freeway at the M80 Ring Road interchange.
During the works, the ramps connecting the Princes Freeway and Geelong Road, as well as the M80 ramp to the West Gate Freeway inbound will be closed.
Motorists are advised to plan ahead and allow for an extra 30 minutes travel time.
Traffic using Geelong Road and the Princes Freeway should detour via Millers Road and the West Gate Freeway.
Traffic on the M80 Ring Road wishing to access West Gate Freeway should detour via Boundary Road, Little Boundary and Geelong roads.
Real-time traffic conditions are available at traffic.vicroads.vic.gov.au or via the VicTraffic mobile app.
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