North East Link is another step closer to slashing travel times, with contracts awarded for the next stages of the end-to-end transformation of the Eastern Freeway.
Construction has started on the first section of Eastern Freeway upgrades – between Burke and Tram roads – with works to build the new interchange with North East Link, new busway and new lanes well underway.
The Momentum consortium – comprising John Holland, Seymour Whyte, Jacobs and Mott Macdonald – has been awarded the contract for the next section of Eastern Freeway Upgrades between Hoddle Street and Burke Road, including new lanes, connections to the Eastern Busway, and new walking and cycling paths.
The Synergy consortium – comprising CPB Contractors, BMD Constructions and Arup – has been awarded the contract for the upgrades between Tram and Springvale roads, including new express lanes, upgraded noise walls and revitalised sections of the Koonung Creek Linear Park.
Together, the three packages of Eastern Freeway works will add more than 45 kilometres of new lanes where they’re needed most, slashing travel times by up to 11 minutes – as well as creating seamless new connections to the North East Link tunnels from Watsonia to Bulleen.
With builders now onboard, Urban Design and Landscape Plans (UDLP) for these stages of the Eastern Freeway Upgrades will go on exhibition later this year, to ask people what they think about the look and feel of the design in their local area – ahead of major construction starting early next year.
The Eastern Freeway will be overhauled from Hoddle Street to Springvale Road, with new traffic management technology and Melbourne’s first dedicated busway from Doncaster toward the city
A huge amount of work is underway to build North East Link and upgrade the freeways – two tunnel boring machines digging under Yallambie, interchanges are being built near Bulleen Road and Greensborough Bypass, and work is underway along the M80 and the Eastern Freeway between Burke and Tram roads.
The Eastern Freeway and North East Link tunnels will be complete in 2028, taking 15,000 trucks off local roads, skipping 18 traffic lights and saving up to 35 minutes in travel time between the east and outer north.