Drivers, cyclists and pedestrians are benefitting from safer, more-reliable travel sooner than expected, with the Barwon Heads Road Upgrade - Stage 1 complete 6 months ahead of schedule.
The $365 million project has added approximately 4km of extra lanes between Belmont and Charlemont to help cater for an anticipated 44,000 daily journeys by 2031.
Other improvements include intersection upgrades, 4km of new shared-use path for pedestrians and cyclists, the removal of a level crossing and its replacement with a bridge over Marshall’s rail line.
The upgrade is providing all the road’s users with safer and more-reliable journeys between Geelong, the Bellarine Peninsula and the fast-growing Armstrong Creek urban growth area.
The completion announcement follows the opening of the Geelong-bound carriageway over the bridge at Marshall on 24 May. The opening marked the first time traffic could flow in both directions for the full length of the upgrade since early works began in July 2021.
As crews undertake landscaping and other finishing touches along the project, there may be some lane closures on Barwon Heads Road outside peak travel times.
Crews will return later in the year when temperatures and weather conditions support the placement of a final layer of asphalt.
All intersection upgrades are complete, and the shared-use path is set for completion in mid-July.
The upgrade has created more than 570 local jobs and generated a further 1419 indirect jobs, providing a crucial boost to the region’s recovery post-COVID-19.
Crews have also:
- worked 681,438 labour hours – equivalent to 374 years of standard annual working weeks
- removed 144,013 tonnes of materials – equivalent in weight to 2323 E-class trams
- laid 57,576 tonnes of asphalt – equivalent in weight to 10,662 Indian elephants
- Installed 10,176m of guardrail – equivalent in length to nearly 2000 dual-cab utes
- planted more than 118,000 native plants.
Find out more information about the Barwon Heads Road Upgrade.