SKYROAD

The West Gate Tunnel Project is nearly done – and the brand-new, six-lane road soaring above the old Footscray Road is ready for a test drive before its finishing touches are added.

The final layer of asphalt and line marking is now complete on the new, elevated Footscray Road, which runs above the existing Footscray Road corridor to give you a faster way to get to the CBD and northern suburbs.

Premier Jacinta Allan, Minister for Transport Infrastructure Gabrielle Williams and Minister for Roads and Road Safety Melissa Horne today test drove skyroad before the whole project opens in December.

The elevated link is 1.5km long and up to 13 metres high.

It provides a second river crossing for drivers entering and exiting the West Gate Tunnel, bypassing the West Gate Bridge.

It will also provide direct freight access to the Port of Melbourne via ramps at MacKenzie Road and Appleton Dock Road – removing trucks from local streets and improving freight efficiency.

To build the elevated road, more than 1,500 concrete segments – weighing a combined 107,000 tonnes – were manufactured in Benalla and lifted into place by a launch gantry that sat on support piers up to 30 metres high.

Crews recently completed installing drainage, signage, lighting and the intelligent traffic management system, to support safer, more reliable traffic flow across the elevated road and city-bound ramps.

Works remaining on the elevated Footscray Road and city connections include electrical and traffic management systems.

Beneath the elevated stretches of road, fit out works continue on the 2.5-kilometre veloway, with technicians cur-rently installing wiring for operation of cameras and lighting.

The West Gate Tunnel Project will provide a much-needed alternative to the West Gate Bridge, reducing travel times, improving safety and removing 9,000 trucks a day from local roads across the inner west.

To learn how to use the elevated Footscray Road later this year, visit westgatetunnelproject.vic.gov.au/drive.

Quotes attributable to Premier Jacinta Allan

“You’ve met skyrail, now meet skyroad.”

“The new elevated Footscray Road will mean less time in traffic and more time at home.”

“The West Gate Tunnel will change the way Victorians move around our city and state for the better – and we’re almost done.”