Monash and Princes freeways upgrades to include 36km of new lanes

Will this fix Melbourne’s horror gridlock once and for all? A massive upgrade of the Monash and Princes freeways - two of the state’s worst traffic bottlenecks - has been revealed. Here’s how much time it will shave off your commute.

More than $1 billion will be spent adding lanes to the Monash and Princes freeways in a bid to bust the daily gridlock endured by ­hundreds of thousands of drivers.

The Herald Sun can reveal that Scott Morrison and Daniel ­Andrews have agreed to fork out an extra $367.5 million for the second stage of freeway works, taking its cost to almost $1.1 billion.

The Monash will go from eight to 10 lanes in total between Springvale Rd and EastLink.

Further out along the southeast corridor, the Princes Freeway will go from four to six lanes in each ­direction, between Cardinia Rd at Pakenham and Clyde Rd, Berwick.

Work will now begin on the project in early 2020, a slight delay from its original start date of later this year

The second stage, a total of 36km of new lanes, is scheduled for completion in late 2022. It will cut nine minutes off a peak-hour trip between Pakenham and the city.

Stage two of the Monash Freeway upgrade will create 36km of new lanes. Picture: Supplied

The Prime Minister and the ­Victorian Premier will announce the additional funding in ­Melbourne today, revealing that the price of stage two has soared from its original $711 million.

The higher cost will be split evenly between the state and Commonwealth. The total bill for the two stages will be $1.4 billion. The first stage was ­completed last year. Mr Morrison said the project was a priority for Melbourne.

“This is going to be a significant boost to the local economy, which is why we’ve been working closely with Daniel Andrews to get this work under way as quickly as ­possible,” he said.

Mr Andrews said the upgrades would significantly improve safety and cut jams for the 470,000 drivers using the Monash each day.

“We’ve already delivered the first stage of upgrades … and we’re getting on with the next to get ­people in Melbourne’s booming southeast home safer and sooner,” Mr Andrews said.

“The extra lanes will slash nearly 10 minutes off the morning peak-hour commute into town, and better connect the Monash with EastLink,” Mr Andrews said.

The Monash freeway has long been a headache for drivers. Picture: Mark Stewart

In addition to the extra lanes, there will be better Princes Freeway connections at Beaconsfield with on-ramps and off-ramps and links to a new duplicated O’Shea Rd.

A new outbound entry to the Monash Freeway at Police Rd will also be built, while the Jacksons Rd outbound ramps will connect directly to EastLink via a separate road.

The project will also use smart technology to ease traffic jams along the freeway in the merging hotspots to improve traffic flow and allow for better accident management.

The construction work will create 600 jobs.

The higher bill for stage two is based on more detailed calculations since the funding was first committed in 2016. The rising cost in raw materials and other market factors, including the cost of labour, are the main reasons for the increased price tag.

Major projects across the country are facing cost pressures as a result of capacity constraints such as difficulties obtaining workers and raw materials.

The total Commonwealth contribution to the project is now $683.8 million, which ensures the 50-50 funding split is maintained.

Mr Morrison and Mr Andrews have been in discussions about the issue since shortly after the federal election on May 18.

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The national independent infrastructure adviser last year gave Canberra the green light to invest $500 million for the second stage, but its commitment has now been increased by more than $180 million.

Infrastructure Australia has warned continued delays on the road will cost the economy $180 million a year.

La Trobe federal MP Jason Wood said the project would deliver long-lasting benefits for his local community.

“The project includes the upgrade of the Beaconsfield Interchange and the extension of O’Shea Rd in Berwick, which will facilitate the Minta City development, opening 10,000 new job opportunities which will greatly benefit residents in the southeast,” he said.

@Gallo_Ways