Overview

Planning is progressing for the upgrade of the Point Cook Road and Central Avenue intersection in Altona Meadows to reduce travel times, improve safety and walking and cycling connections.

The intersection is a key connection to the Princes Freeway, used by nearly 28,000 vehicles a day. With congestion set to grow, travel times are expected to significantly increase, making it more difficult to travel around the area.

To cater for population growth and increase the efficiency of the intersection, the upgrade will:

• remove the existing roundabout and replace it with traffic lights
• add an outbound exit ramp to connect to the intersection
• add new lanes on Point Cook Road and Central Avenue near the intersection
• add pedestrian crossings and upgrade walking and cycling paths at the intersection.

Planning work completed

Planning work completed includes traffic modelling, social studies and environmental investigations. These have helped us to understand environmental and social impacts, develop design options, and confirm scope and costs of different options.

Options investigated included:

• upgrading the roundabout at Point Cook Road and Central Avenue
• removing the existing roundabout and replacing it with traffic lights
• upgrading Central Avenue between Point Cook Road and Skehan Boulevard
• adding new lanes on Point Cook Road and Central Avenue at the intersection
• improving walking and cycling infrastructure at the intersection.

A business case has been completed which examined the intersection upgrade in detail to recommend a design, and identify the best delivery approach.

Community and business feedback

From 13 March to 2 April 2023, we asked for community and business feedback via Engage Victoria to help inform our planning for upgrades to the Point Cook Road and Central Avenue intersection. Thank you to everyone who took the time to provide feedback.

Feedback has helped us understand how people currently use the intersection as well as views on safety, traffic flow and what we should consider in our planning. We also heard how businesses operate and use the intersection.

Feedback highlighted strong support for an upgrade to the intersection to reduce travel times, boost road capacity and make it easier and safer to walk and cycle in the area.

For more information read the Community and Business Consultation Summary (PDF, 6.5 MB).

Next steps

Planning work is continuing, and key upcoming activities include:

• on-site investigations including identifying underground utilities, testing ground conditions and noise studies
• refining the project design and construction approach
• obtaining planning approvals
• engaging with utility providers
• appointing a construction partner.

Construction timelines will be known once our planning has progressed further.

Factsheets