Before construction of permanent above-ground buildings or structures for the Eastern Freeway Upgrades from Hoddle Street to Burke Road got underway, an Urban Design and Landscape Plan (UDLP) was exhibited for public comment from 27 October to 16 November 2025 so local people could give feedback on local elements of the design.
The Urban Design and Landscape Plan shows the project design and explains how it meets requirements set through community consultation for the project’s Environment Effects Statement (EES) . More than 3500 pieces of feedback helped prepare the requirements for the project design.
While the Urban Design and Landscape Plan was on exhibition it was viewed online more than 8685 times. Over 100 people visited an information display to speak with our team, and we received 366 submissions.
In response to submissions received, we made some further improvements to the project design including:
- a better route for the new walking and cycling path at Yarra Bend Park and an improved connection with the Main Yarra Trail
- more separation between the new cycle path and re-built River Circuit walking trail near Fairlea Ovals
- buffer planting for the Main Yarra Trail in key areas along the Eastern Freeway
- improved locations for rest stops along walking and cycling paths, and an extra stop at Yarra Bend Park
- additional trees and plants to help screen and filter views of noise walls.
The Urban Design and Landscape Plan was approved by the Minister for Planning in July 2026.
You can see the approved Eastern Freeway Upgrades – Hoddle Street to Burke Road UDLP and the Community Consultation Report below:
- UDLP Community Consultation Report PDF, 6.8 MB
- UDLP Report PDF, 16.4 MB
- Attachment 1 – Architecture and Urban Design PDF, 12.1 MB
- Attachment 2 – Landscape Design PDF, 7.6 MB
- Attachment 3 – Urban Design Visualisations PDF, 9.7 MB
- Attachment 4 – Overshadowing and Overlooking Assessment PDF, 18.0 MB
More information
While the UDLP was on exhibition, we heard people wanted more information about how the upgraded Eastern Freeway is being designed and built to meet Victoria's most stringent traffic noise standard. We've made this extra information available in the Managing traffic noise fact sheet.