Melbourne Airport’s new elevated road and drop-off point to cut time passengers spend in traffic — especially at peak times
New express roads and drop-off points due to open at Melbourne Airport next year are set to cut travel times and reduce traffic jams.
Victoria
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New express roads and drop-off points due to open at Melbourne Airport next year will reduce peak time traffic jams leading into the aviation hub by almost half an hour.
A new elevated road, called Naarm Way, is being built above the current Departure Drive to connect to a new pick-up and drop-off zone in what is currently the airport car park.
The structure bypasses traffic lights in the precinct to reduce choke points, and will give a smoother run to motorists despite increasing congestion in Melbourne’s northwest and booming international passenger numbers expected to cause Tullamarine Fwy chaos.
The Herald Sun can reveal that traffic modelling shows that by the end of the decade, without Naarm Way, passengers would be waiting an extra 28 minutes to get to the airport by car.
Melbourne Airport chief executive, Lorie Argus, said Naarm Way was due to open late next year and although motorists would need to be patient during construction, the result would be worth it.
“The Naarm Way project will deliver a new road network and a doubling of capacity for pick up and drop offs, significantly reducing congestion and travel times,” she said.
“This project will fundamentally change how passengers come and go from Melbourne Airport and will ensure our road network is capable of supporting our future passenger growth.”
During construction of the road, passengers are this year being urged to plan ahead and leave a buffer of up to half an hour extra travel time.
In the forecourt, overnight lane closures have allowed massive beams to be lifted into place where a new pedestrian bridge will connect terminals to the new drop off and pick up hub – in a space where 2000 airport car parks had been.
In order to minimise road closures during construction, modular frames will be built onsite and slid into place to build the remaining parts of the bridge in the first half of 2026.
Ms Argus said removing the current kerbside drop off zone for motorists would allow the airport to then extend the inside of the airport out into the forecourt.
“By relocating vehicles away from the forecourt, the Naarm Way project will significantly reduce pedestrian and car interfaces along with allowing for the commencement of the much-needed expansion of our international terminal,” she said.
In January, 3.4 million passengers used the airport in the busiest month on record, and passenger numbers are expected to soar to more than 70 million a year within two decades.
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