Major Road Projects Victoria’s mammoth summer blitz to fast-track an upgrade of three of Craigieburn’s busiest intersections is powering ahead, with new lanes built and traffic lights being installed.
Construction crews have been out in force removing hundreds of cubic metres of soil from around the Craigieburn Road, Hardy Avenue and Waterview Boulevard intersections, creating space to work on new lanes and build shared use paths.
In a huge win for local families, Bridgewater Road - which has been closed for the past two weeks between Craigieburn Road and Clovelly Drive – is reopening as scheduled on Wednesday 25 January, just in time for the start of the school year at Our Lady’s Primary School on the corner.
Workers took advantage of reduced traffic volumes to upgrade in and around the Craigieburn-Bridgewater intersection, laying all but the final layer of asphalt.
Signals and lighting have also been installed and are awaiting a final switch over.
Over coming weeks, crews in this section will focus on the section of Bridgewater Road between Craigieburn Road and Clovelly Drive to build kerbside drainage and median strips.
Traffic will be reduced to one lane in each direction during this time.
The rest of the summer’s work will now focus on Aitken Boulevard and around Craigieburn Plaza, where a 24/7 closure between the Hume Highway and Hanson Road intersections will remain in place until Tuesday 28 February.
During the massive construction blitz, workers will be working around-the-clock to add extra lanes through this section to keep the more than 28,000 vehicles who use Craigieburn Road each day moving.
When this intensive major works period wraps up, drivers can look forward to new and improved intersections at Hume Highway and Hardy Avenue.
Motorists heading towards the city during the peak will benefit from three, instead of two, turning lanes – increasing capacity to reduce queuing at the intersection.
Adding more through and turning lanes at Hume Highway-Craigieburn Road will help clear congestion at the suburb’s busiest intersection.
Traffic lights are also replacing the roundabout at Hardy Avenue to allow traffic to flow more smoothly to and from the improved Hume Highway-Craigieburn Road intersection.
Drivers are being warned of up to 25-minute delays and are urged to heed the detour signs during construction.
Continuing until 28 February, drivers will only be able to get onto the Hume Highway by using Grand Boulevard to the north and Somerton Road to the south.
As Craigieburn Road will remain closed between Hanson Road and Hume Highway, intersections at Hardy Avenue, Benston Street and Healey Street will also remain closed, with one-way local access maintained for businesses and residents.
During summer, MRPV is also continuing the fast-track construction of new lanes along Aitken Boulevard, which has been closed between Craigieburn Road and Elevation Boulevard since Wednesday 11 January. This important linking road will remain closed until 28 February to complete intersection works and get a head start on the road upgrade.
The summer blitz will upgrade three out of seven intersections on Craigieburn Road between Mickleham Road and Hume Highway.
Craigieburn Road connects growing residential areas in the north to key routes, nearby freeways and the Melbourne Airport. Its upgrade will improve journey times, slash congestion, improve public transport connections and keep cyclists and pedestrians safe from busy traffic.
The Craigieburn Road Upgrade is scheduled to be fully completed in 2025.
Find out more about the Craigieburn Road Upgrade and stay up to date with the latest works. For more information about the planned disruptions over summer visit Victoria's Big Build disruptions page.
