Overview
Planning is progressing for the Western Freeway Upgrade between Melton and Caroline Springs to improve safety, freeway access and road capacity to help accommodate growing demand.
The Western Freeway is a critical road link and every single day approximately 86,000 vehicles travel the stretch between Melton and Caroline Springs, with this figure expected to rise to approximately 113,000 by 2031.
Options explored to upgrade the Western Freeway between Harkness Road and Christies Road include:
- additional road lanes
- new interchanges and overpasses
- upgrades to existing interchanges
- upgrades to walking and cycling paths
- traffic signal and street lighting improvements
- public transport facilities.
Planning and development
In 2023, planning and development work commenced to inform the Western Freeway Upgrade.
Planning work completed to date includes preliminary traffic modelling, community engagement, initial land and soil investigations, initial environmental investigations and economic assessments. This has helped us to understand the local area, possible environmental and social impacts and evaluate different options.
Planning for the Western Freeway Upgrade has considered residential estate developments currently in planning or construction in the local area. This helped us understand the projected growth of the area and the demand this will place on the freeway.
A program business case was completed in December 2024 to inform government decision-making. This provided a high-level assessment of the upgrade, recommended a long-term approach for upgrading the freeway, and outlined how the upgrade could be delivered in stages.
Pre-construction and next steps
The upgrade is currently in the pre-construction phase. Key activities underway include:
- refining the project design and construction approach
- site investigations to further assess ground conditions
- detailed flood modelling to understand how the design impacts may affect existing water flows
- environmental investigations to further understand local flora and fauna
- preparing a Cultural Heritage Management Plan
- progressing work to secure planning and environmental approvals.
The project scope will be confirmed in mid-2026, once design development has progressed further.
Following these key activities, the project will move into the procurement phase to appoint a construction partner to deliver the upgrade.
Construction timelines will be confirmed as the pre-construction and procurement phases progress.
Community feedback
From 11 November to 10 December 2023, we asked for feedback from the community via Engage Victoria to help inform our planning for the upgrade.
Your feedback provided local insights that has helped us to understand community views on safety, traffic flow and what we should consider in our planning.
Feedback highlighted strong support for additional road lanes, upgrades to some existing interchanges, suggested locations for several new interchanges and to provide better active transport connections to make it easier and safer to walk and cycle in the area.
99% of respondents are supportive of a potential upgrade to the Western Freeway between Melton and Caroline Springs.
For further information on what you’ve said view the Community Consultation Summary Report (PDF, 1.0 MB).
Timeline
Latest news
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