Hoddle St upgrade slashes travel times on Punt Rd
If you’ve driven on Punt Rd and it’s connecting streets in the last few months you may have noticed a change to travel times since the $110m upgrade to Melbourne’s worst bottleneck — and not all of them are good.
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A traffic overhaul of Melbourne’s worst bottleneck has slashed peak-hour journeys on Punt Rd but has blown out trip times on Swan St and Olympic Boulevard.
New figures show the $110 million Streamlining Hoddle St project has delivered a massive saving for commuters travelling up and down the busy corridor.
Northbound motorists on Punt Rd have shaved almost four minutes off their morning commute and more than two minutes away from afternoon journeys since the upgrades were completed.
But over the same period, travel times along connecting streets have soared.
Eastbound cars on Olympic Boulevard are now stuck in an at least four minutes of extra traffic between Alexandra Ave and Lennox St.
Motorists heading west on Swan St between Burnley St and Alexandra Ave added 23 seconds to their morning journey and two minutes to afternoon trips.
The Andrews Government completed the state’s first continuous flow intersection earlier this year in a bid to ease the traffic nightmare motorists face every day.
It was part of a raft of changes that included the introduction of P-Turns, more clearways and lanes designed to stop traffic from banking up while turning right.
Transport Infrastructure Minister Jacinta Allan said the project had also delivered a new accessible tram stop and better infrastructure for cyclists and pedestrians.
“The completion of the Streamlining Hoddle Street project means motorists can get from the north to the south of the city and to our sporting and major events precinct, faster and safer than ever before,” she said.
About 333,000 people travel along or across Hoddle St and Punt Rd every day.
Traffic experts are expected to keep testing traffic lights as they work to deliver better travel times for motorists who have not felt the full benefit of the project.
Motorists are expected to adjust to the changes with more settled movements patterns by the middle of 2020.
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The Hoddle St project was initially budgeted about $60 million but blew out to $110 million after cost pressure from labour and demand for resources.
Other upgrades included improvements to Brunton Ave and a new footpath under the Richmond rail bridge to better handle footy fans headed towards the MCG.
An improved and accessible stop on Swan St has helped separate trams from busy traffic and improved safety for people connecting to bus and trains.
TRIP TIMES
Swan St (westbound)
AM: 23 sec longer
PM: 2min 17 sec slower
Punt Rd (northbound)
AM: 3min 55sec faster
PM: 2min 27 sec faster
Punt Rd (southbound)
AM: 15 sec slower
PM: 40sec faster
Olympic Boulevard (eastbound)
AM: 4min 15 sec slower
PM: 5min 3 sec slower