CityLink widening: extra lanes to open between Flemington and the Westgate Freeway

THE pain will soon be over on a 9km stretch of CityLink with widening works finishing up and the government says they will save you up to 17 minutes.

The pain will soon be over for motorists on a 9km stretch of CityLink including the Bolte Bridge. Picture: Rob Leeson.

THE pain will soon be over on a 9km stretch of CityLink with works on widening the toll road finishing up.

Construction crews will soon complete their work on adding extra lanes on CityLink between Flemington Rd and the Westgate Freeway.

From the early hours of Saturday, April 1, drivers heading in both directions will have an additional traffic lane available each way including on the Bolte Bridge.

Emergency lanes have also been replaced by new “overhead lane use signs” that can transform any lane into an emergency lane, as well as provide up-to-the-minute notice of lane closures and reduced speed limits.

The new digital signage is helped by CCTV cameras that will identify accidents or breakdowns requiring incident response crews or emergency services.

Construction crews will continue their work on building an extra lane on the Bolte Bridge exit ramp to reduce queuing, as well as an extra inbound lane on the West Gate Freeway.

On average, motorists will save 16 minutes in the morning peak and 17 minutes in the afternoon peak when the upgrade is completed.

Roads Minister Luke Donnellan said construction crews had been working “around the clock to get the job done”.

“We’re getting on with the job and opening up 9km of extra lanes that will slash travel times and boost safety for drivers travelling between the airport and the city,” Mr Donnellan said.

The entire CityLink Tulla Widening Project, which stretches 24 kilometres from the Melbourne Airport to Power St in Southbank, is expected to be completed in 2018.

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