Overview

We’re undertaking planning for an upgrade to the Watson Street Interchange at the Hume Freeway in Wallan.

Options being investigated include:

• creating a full diamond interchange at Watson Street and the Hume Freeway, by adding south facing ramps (an outbound exit ramp and an inbound entry ramp)
• upgrades to Watson Street to improve capacity and safety.

As part of our planning, we’re investigating solutions to:

• provide direct access off the freeway for northbound travelling vehicles and on the freeway for southbound travelling vehicles
• cater for population growth and increased vehicle movements
• reduce congestion and improve travel times
• improve road safety
• improve accessibility for residents living in Wallan East to the Wallan township.

View a downloadable version of the Project overview map (PDF, 187.5 KB)

Planning and development

We’re currently undertaking planning and development work to inform an upgrade to the Watson Street Interchange. This includes traffic modelling, environmental and site investigations, planning and social studies.

The results of these investigations will help to give us a complete picture of the area, allow us to understand environmental and social impacts, develop project options, and confirm scope and costs of different options.

Our planning will build on the previous development work completed by the Department of Transport and Planning (formally VicRoads). We will be reviewing the technical studies and designs previously developed and we will be using these to inform our planning. We’re also considering any recent changes in the area, including population growth.

Technical investigations

To help inform our planning, we’ll complete roadside technical investigations. At times during these investigations, we may need to implement traffic control measures, including temporary lane closures, stop/slow traffic and reduced speeds. We’ll keep traffic disruption to a minimum and avoid busy periods.

Community and business feedback

From Monday 17 July to Sunday 6 August 2023, we sought feedback from the community and local businesses to help inform our planning and shape the development of project options for an upgrade to the Watson Street Interchange.

All feedback received is being considered. We’ll share a summary of feedback received on Engage Victoria later in the year.

Timeline

We’re currently developing a business case and our planning work will be completed in early 2024.

The business case will provide a detailed examination of the interchange upgrade to help inform government decision-making.

For more information on the upgrade to the Watson Street Interchange, view our project overview fact sheet below: