We’re upgrading the Eastern Freeway with new express lanes, new traffic management technology and Melbourne’s first dedicated busway. These changes will slash travel times and improve public transport in Melbourne’s east.

We’re building a new Doncaster Road interchange and upgrading Doncaster Park and Ride to improve traffic flow, connections to to public transport and the Koonung Creek Trail.

To enable these works, there will be changes to how you travel through the area.

The new Doncaster Road bridge will be widened to accommodate 10 lanes of traffic, including 6 express lanes. It will also be elevated to make space for the new Eastern Busway connecting Bulleen and Doncaster park and rides.

How we're building the new Doncaster Interchange

To keep traffic moving across Doncaster Road bridge and to maintain connectivity to the Eastern Freeway during construction, we're building the new interchange in stages.

Stage 1 – City side

We’ve started building the city side of the new bridge and temporary freeway ramps. Once complete, we'll switch traffic onto the new half of the bridge and motorists will be able to access the freeway via the realigned city-bound entry ramp and Ringwood-bound exit ramp.

Stage 2 – Ringwood side

Following the traffic switch onto the new half of the bridge, the Ringwood side will be demolished and re-built while traffic continues to move on the temporary freeway ramps. The newly realigned city-bound exit ramp and Ringwood bound entry ramp will be built and open for motorists in late 2025.

Stage 3 - Start building the Eastern Busway and Doncaster Park and Ride

Once the new Doncaster interchange starts to take shape, we’ll begin building an express connection to the Eastern Busway beneath Doncaster Road. To get ready for this new busway, we’ll also build a new Doncaster Park and Ride with works commencing from late 2025.

Traffic changes

When travelling through the Doncaster and Balwyn North areas, you can expect changed traffic conditions as we work to open temporary freeway ramps and realign traffic onto the new bridge to keep you moving safely through the area.

We’ll maintain lanes of traffic in both directions on Doncaster Road bridge throughout construction and will work at night to keep traffic moving throughout the day.

Please continue to observe wayfinding signage and direction from onsite traffic controllers to ensure the safety of motorists and our workers.

Changes to Winfield Road access

The right-turn lane from Doncaster Road into Winfield Road will be permanently removed. This change will prevent right turns across Doncaster Road, improving safety and making way for the upgrades.

From late April 2025 onwards, access to Winfield Road from Doncaster Road will be restricted to left-in and left-out only. This permanent adjustment is designed to ensure safer access to local roads.

For those travelling westbound on Doncaster Road, access into Winfield Road will be available via Greythorn Road and Leicester Street.

Changes to Hender Street

The temporary Ringwood-bound entry ramp to the freeway will be built along the Hender Street side of the Doncaster Park and Ride site. We’re currently completing site investigations and traffic modelling to help inform the ramp alignment.

We’ll be in touch with Hender Street residents prior to building the temporary freeway ramp, to discuss the proposed changes to local roads and what can be expected during construction.

Delays are expected, please allow extra time for your journey.

Public transport, pedestrian and cycling access

To safely build temporary ramps, the new bridge and make space for new noise walls, there will be temporary changes to sections of the Koonung Creek Trail and local bus stops.

From late April, we’ll close the Doncaster Road underpass so we can start building the foundations of the new Doncaster Road bridge. Pedestrians and cyclists will be switched over to the new temporary shared path built behind Gardenia Road to continue their journey. We encourage cyclists to either slow down or dismount when moving through this area for safety.

The bus stop located on the citybound ramp will be relocated to the temporary ramp to ensure we keep passengers moving. Please continue to check signage for changes to bus stops and plan your journey ahead via ptv.vic.gov.au.

What’s happening at the Doncaster Park and Ride site?

We’ve closed the Doncaster Park and Ride and switched public transport services to the temporary bus stops on Doncaster Road so we can prepare to build the temporary Ringwood-bound entry ramp to the Eastern Freeway and the new park and ride facility.

These works involve utility relocations, excavation and demolition of the old park and ride infrastructure. Once the site has been established, we’ll begin piling works for the new multi-level car park and building the new temporary Ringwood-bound ramp.