Frequently asked questions

In early April 2025, we sent an update to the local community to provide information on the draft project design, with information on key features and access changes that are being considered as part of the design process.

Some features may change as we continue to work on a design that delivers the best possible outcomes for the community.

Why we’re building the Ballan Road Intersection Upgrade

The intersection of Ballan, Greens and McGrath roads is one of the most congested in Wyndham Vale, with approximately 30,000 drivers travelling through the roundabout each day. The Ballan Road Intersection Upgrade will replace the existing roundabout with traffic lights and add more through lanes and dedicated turning lanes, providing more frequent opportunities to get drivers through the intersection safely.

The project will also add a new set of traffic lights at the intersection of Ballan Road and McGrath Road, near the 7-Eleven, making it safer and easier for drivers turning right out of McGrath Road to travel towards Werribee. Pedestrians and cyclists will benefit from the signalised pedestrian crossings we’ll add to both intersections.

While the project will not resolve all the congestion and heavy traffic experienced by drivers in the western suburbs, it is a step towards easing a bottleneck on a heavily congested key road in the area and improving safety for all road users.

During the project’s planning phase, our traffic engineers identified that the roundabout at the intersection of Ballan Road and Greens Road/McGrath Road was a major source of congestion on Ballan Road. By upgrading this intersection, we expect to improve travel times through the intersection during peak hours, where drivers often experience long queues.

The roundabout at the intersection of Ballan, Greens and McGrath roads is currently operating beyond its traffic carrying capacity during peak periods, contributing to congestion, poor travel times and long queues for drivers.

Beyond the impacts on traffic, community safety is a key consideration contributing to the need to upgrade the intersection. The roundabout does not provide safe conditions for pedestrians to travel to and from facilities like the nearby service stations, medical facilities, restaurants and primary schools. The congestion and queuing at the roundabout are also likely to increase risk-taking behaviours for drivers, leading to a higher chance of collisions and traffic incidents.

Upgrades to the intersection of Ballan Road and Bolton Road were investigated as part of the initial planning for the project. It was determined that any minor upgrades such as lengthening the right hand turn lane will result in minimal benefits to road users. As a result, it was determined the Ballan Road and Bolton Road intersection should be addressed in a future project dedicated to a major upgrade of the intersection, rather than included in the current project.

The Ballan Road Intersection Upgrade is one of several investments in the area, which includes the Ison Road Overpass and Extension and the Werribee Main Road - Princes Freeway Interchange Upgrade. These will help direct traffic away from Werribee, reducing congestion from the town centre, by providing a more convenient alternative for people living in Manor Lakes, Mambourin, Wyndham Vale, and Werribee South to access the freeway.

In addition, the current project would support any future road upgrades in the immediate area, such as a duplication of Ballan Road.

Listening to community and stakeholders asking for feedback is a vital step to help inform planning and shape development of design options for our projects.

Previous community consultation on the Ballan Road Intersection Upgrade occurred between 20 March and 9 April 2023. We invited feedback from the local community through flyer distributions, social media advertising, online advertising, press advertising, letterbox drops and doorknocks. A pop-up community information session was also held for locals to talk to the project team in person.

There were 807 contributions to the consultation made via the Victorian Government engagement platform, Engage Victoria. This consisted of 731 community surveys, 11 business surveys and 65 submissions on an interactive map.

View the consultation summary (PDF, 5.8 MB).

In any major road upgrade, there are a range of considerations that determine the most suitable approach to construction. Factors including safety, travel time delays, disruptions to businesses, construction noise, impacts to driveway access, and more need to be balanced.

Over the life of the project, we’ll continue to look for opportunities to complete works more efficiently and accelerate our construction schedule where possible.

While at times, it may not look like much is happening on the surface of the road, the project will involve significant works to relocate underground utilities like water, gas, internet and power to create room for the upgraded intersection.

We thank you in advance for your patience as we work to complete the project as quickly as possible.

Why a traffic light intersection is the best option for the area

During the project’s initial planning stages, the current design which replaces the roundabout with a traffic light intersection was compared against several other options.

These included upgrading the roundabout to include more lanes and adding traffic lights to the existing roundabout.

Traffic modelling was completed to compare the performance and effectiveness of these designs into the future, based on projected traffic volumes anticipating future growth in the region.

The current draft design solution was found to be the most effective at reducing delays, as well as having further benefits for the community, including improved safety for drivers and pedestrians and improvements to public transport traffic flow.

The construction of a traffic light intersection would also support any future road upgrades, including duplicating the lanes on Ballan Road.

Roundabouts are most effective when an equal level of traffic uses each leg of the intersection, with enough breaks in traffic for drivers on all legs to enter the roundabout. The existing roundabout experiences significant congestion each day due to the uneven distribution of traffic between the different approaches, with well over half the traffic entering or exiting the roundabout on Ballan Road. In addition, the steady flow of traffic to the intersection means there are fewer opportunities for the different legs to travel through.

Upgrading the roundabout to traffic lights will allow for more balanced traffic flow through the intersection, with the added ability to actively adjust traffic light timing for each side of the intersection to suit conditions at any given time. For example, the timing of the lights can be adjusted to better manage the morning and afternoon peaks, which have different demands.

The existing roundabout is also limited by having a single lane on each approach, meaning traffic travelling straight, left or right all need to wait in the same lane. The new traffic light intersection will have multiple lanes on each approach to allow traffic to move more easily, including multiple through lanes, dedicated right and left turn lanes and a bus priority lane.

Adding more lanes to the existing roundabout was an option considered during the earlier planning phases of the project but was found to be less efficient compared to a traffic light intersection. The available space on the road also limits the number of additional lanes that could be added to the existing roundabout.

Traffic counts were conducted in late February 2023 during the initial development of the project. Future traffic volumes were then calculated based on projected growth in the region and used to investigate the various design solutions considered for the project.

A design solution featuring the addition of traffic lights to the existing roundabout was considered during the project’s initial planning stages. This is similar to trialling temporary traffic lights on the roundabout.

While controlling traffic flow through the roundabout with lights may improve congestion slightly in the short term, the intersection’s performance is still limited by having only a single lane on each side of the roundabout. A single lane roundabout does not meet current traffic demands and will not meet future traffic demands in the area.

Sustainable improvement to traffic flow is achieved by increasing the number of lanes through the intersection. This is most effectively and safely achieved with a traffic light intersection.

Removal of the right turn from Ballan Road into McGrath Road

One of the main focuses of the project is to improve traffic flow for vehicles on Ballan Road, as this route carries the most vehicles through the intersection.

Allowing for the right-hand turn movement from Ballan Road to McGrath Road in the traffic light sequencing would take away much-needed green time away from the other, more heavily used, movements in the intersection and increase congestion for these legs of the intersection. The additional delays to traffic travelling along Ballan Road and Greens Road from allowing this right-hand turn would minimise the benefits of upgrading the roundabout to traffic lights.

In addition, there is not enough space available in the intersection to build a dedicated right-turn lane with sufficient storage while maintaining through lanes. Without enough storage, traffic queuing to turn right from Ballan Road into McGrath Road would overflow into the through traffic lanes and cause further delays for drivers travelling straight through the intersection on Ballan Road as well as blocking traffic turning left into Ballan Road from McGrath Road south.

Regardless of the time of day, allowing any right-hand turns from Ballan Road to McGrath Road would require the construction of a dedicated right-hand turn lane.

Allowing for a right-hand turn from a through lane at some times but not others could confuse drivers, creating situations where drivers are waiting for a green light to turn that never appears. It would also increase congestion during non-peak hours with vehicles held up behind right-turning motorists, and reduce safety as drivers attempt last-minute merges into the left lane.

Due to the limited space in the road reserve, there isn’t enough room to include a right-hand turn lane while maintaining through lanes.

There are road safety standards that guide the design of traffic light intersections. Key safety considerations include positioning traffic lights to ensure drivers have a clear and unobstructed view of the signals and providing gradual transitions between straight sections and curved sections of the road to help drivers adjust their speed and steering smoothly.

To realign McGrath Road so that it intersects with Ballan Road following these considerations and current road safety standards, we’d need to significantly relocate both sections of McGrath Road and Ballan Road itself. This would mean significant acquisition of privately-owned land, including several homes, as well as relocation of more utility services.

Based on the traffic modelling used in planning for the project, only a small proportion of traffic travelling through the intersection of Ballan, Greens and McGrath roads make the right-hand turn movement from Ballan Road into McGrath Road.

Following the upgrade, we expect this traffic to be distributed across the alternative routes, including Greens Road as well as the Ballan and Bolton Road intersection. This isn’t expected to significantly impact the performance of the Ballan and Bolton Road intersection.

Upgrades to the intersection of Ballan and Bolton roads were investigated as part of the initial planning for the project. It was determined that any minor upgrades such as lengthening the right hand turn lane will result in minimal benefits to road users.

The performance of the Ballan Road and Bolton Road intersection will only improve with a major upgrade, which is not possible within the scope of the Ballan Road Intersection Upgrade.

Changes to local access

The draft design includes realigning the lanes on Ballan Road north of the upgraded intersection and converting the existing road into a new service road running from 151 to 165 Ballan Road.

The new service road would become a one-way service road, with nature strips and on-street parking being retained.

In the current draft design, Greens Road will be realigned, bringing it closer to the service road, with 2 lanes from the Ballan Road intersection. With the realignment of Greens Road, there will be no room for vehicles entering the service road to safely slow down or come to a stop to give way to vehicles on Wembley Street or the service road. This would make this intersection unsafe, as well as raise the risk of rear-end collisions on Greens Road as vehicles come to a sudden stop to enter the service road.

The draft design also extends the existing Greens Road service road further towards Honour Avenue. The current draft design will require drivers to access the extended service road via Honour Avenue and Valewood Drive. While this change will add travel time for locals in this area, it will improve the safety and performance of the intersection and the service road.

The new traffic light intersection being built at the Ballan Road, Greens Road and McGrath Road intersection will include multiple lanes on each approach to the intersection to improve traffic flow. These new lanes will also increase the footprint of the intersection and change the way traffic queues on Ballan Road.

The existing access point to Windsor Avenue and the Ballan Road service road from Ballan Road is too close to the upgraded intersection and would create an unsafe environment for drivers approaching the intersection and trying to enter or exit the service road. Keeping the existing access point would also impact on the efficiency of the traffic light intersection, creating further delays.

Instead, the current draft project design will create a new access point to the Ballan Road service road further north on Ballan Road, between Boronia Way and Windsor Avenue. Drivers will be able to turn left or right from Ballan Road to enter the service road and turn left out from the service road to Ballan Road. Drivers heading to Windsor Avenue from Ballan Road will need to turn into the new access point and travel a short distance along the service road.

The new access point for the Ballan Road service road is intentionally not directly connected to Boronia Way to improve safety.

Extending Boronia Way to connect with Ballan Road would create an unsignalised 4 leg intersection with the Ballan Road service road, with uncontrolled vehicle movements increasing the risk of collisions. By keeping the new access point separate from Boronia Way, the likelihood of accidents is reduced, enhancing safety for all road users.

While several examples of these connected access points are present in the area, such as the existing access point at Windsor Road, they are not considered best practice and create worse safety outcomes for road users.

While there may be an increase in traffic on Greens Road from drivers accessing McGrath Road, the queuing on Greens Road will be improved by the upgraded traffic light intersection replacing the existing congested roundabout.

A dedicated right-hand turn lane to the service road will be provided along with a through lane to the intersection, where there will be a left-hand turn lane, a through lane, and a right-turn/through lane.

The right-hand turn lane into the service road will not be signalised. Minimal changes to the entrance to the service road and no traffic calming devices are planned at this stage.

Why we’re building the Ballan Road Intersection Upgrade

Why a traffic light intersection is the best option for the area

Removal of the right turn from Ballan Road into McGrath Road

Changes to local access

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