West Gate Freeway to cause heavy delays over holiday period

THERE are long delays on the West Gate Freeway this morning as workers complete annual maintenance on the bridge.

THERE are long delays on the West Gate Freeway this morning as workers complete annual maintenance on the bridge.

From last night four lanes closed on the West Gate for upgrades and they will stay shut until 5pm on December 30.

VicRoads is reporting heavy traffic inbound between the Western Ring Road and the West Gate Bridge.

There are long traffic delays on the West Gate this morning.

Motorists using the popular road have been advised to expect delays of up to an hour.

TUNNEL CONSTRUCTION MEANS FIVE-YEAR GO-SLOW

The project is just the beginning for maintenance delays, with night-time road closures also scheduled on the Tullamarine Freeway.

The freeway will be closed inbound from 7pm to 6am on January 3 and 4, and 9pm to 7am on January 5.

The M80 westbound entry ramp will also be closed over the same times.

West Gate freeway works will slow traffic down to a crawl. Picture: Nicole Garmston

Upgrades to Hoddle St between the Eastern Freeway and Victoria Pde will shut down the city’s busiest bottleneck from January 7 to 14.

Rail commuters have also been warned to prepare for delays of up to 75 minutes as buses replace trains on long stretches of the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines.

According to traffic data from VicRoads, Boxing Day congestion will peak at 1pm before easing off over the rest of the afternoon.

The Monash Freeway last year recorded significant delays between Punt and Jacksons roads, with the average speed dropping to 84kmh and average travel time rising to 27 minutes.

VicRoads traffic controller Fiorentino De Sensi said motorists should time their trips carefully, with the authority mapping out the best routes around shopping centre carparks.

“All the (freeway) exits get fairly heavy so just be patient and we’ll do what we can to extend the traffic lights for people,” he said.

HORRIFIC IMPACT OF CRASH CAR’S DEADLY SPEED

MOTORISTS WILL HAVE TO STOP AT RED LIGHTS ON FREEWAYS

“With our cameras we can the see the Eastern, West Gate and Tullamarine freeways so we can jump in and extend the green cycles.

“The system is very good because it will do that by itself but we will intervene if we want to increase that.”

The traffic chaos comes as new data shows families in Victoria and New South Wales are more likely to leave home over the Christmas period than any other state.

The figures from Finder.com.au reveal 29 per cent of Victorians will go on a road trip over the Christmas break.

The state led the country for holidays away from home, with 48 per cent of families choosing to get away and 10 per cent saying they would leave the country.

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