Motorists travelling through greater Geelong will benefit from improved traffic flow and reduced congestion ahead of the Labour Day long weekend after half the Barwon Heads Road Upgrade opened to traffic this week.
The 2km of additional lanes between Marshall and Charlemont will provide a timely boost to safety and traffic flow ahead of the long weekend’s influx of holidaymakers.
Along with the extra lanes, new traffic lights also began operating at the upgraded Marshalltown and Reserve roads intersections, replacing previously congested roundabouts.
Crews have
- clocked around 207,000 work hours on the section
- installed nearly 4.5km of guardrail
- laid 21,000 tonnes of asphalt – the equivalent to nearly 350 E-Class trams.
As part of the Victorian Government’s Recycled First Policy, we used a significant amount of recycled material in the 2km stretch of Barwon Heads Road, including over 17,000 tonnes of crushed rock, asphalt, masonry and glass, along with 1.6km of drainage pipe made from recycled plastic.
We expect to complete the remaining 2km of the $365 million Barwon Heads Road Upgrade later this year.
We are now considering community and local business feedback to inform a Business Case for a potential second stage of the Barwon Heads Road Upgrade between Reserve and Lower Duneed roads.
Work on the Business Case is expected to be complete later this year.