Widening the West Gate Freeway

The West Gate Freeway carries 200,000 vehicles each day and is a critical link in Melbourne’s transport network, but one incident is enough to bring traffic to a standstill.

We're widening the West Gate Freeway from 8 to 12 through lanes to ease congestion, and support Victoria’s growing population.

What we're building

An additional 4 through lanes between the M80 Ring Road and the West Gate Bridge
Express lanes creating faster connections between the west and the city
New entrances and exits into and out of the West Gate Tunnel
New ramps to Hyde Street, Yarraville that will connect trucks directly to local industry
Interchange upgrades at M80 Ring Road, Grieve Parade, Millers Road and Williamstown Road.

We're revitalising the West Gate Freeway to make it smoother and stronger by rebuilding existing lanes from the ground up and adding new lanes

The widened West Gate Freeway will also include a new tunnel entry to the city and exit to the west.

By widening the freeway from four to six lanes in each direction:

we'll be helping to ease congestion, cut 20 minutes off travel time to and from the west
we'll increase capacity by 50% from M80 Ring Road interchange to the West Gate Bridge.

Express lanes from the M80 Ring Road interchange to the West Gate Bridge will reduce congestion for vehicles heading to the south of the city and out to the south eastern suburbs.

Trucks will save up to 50% travel time through direct freeway connections to the Port, and new ramps from the West Gate Freeway to Hyde Street.

We’re installing a new freeway management system on the West Gate Freeway. The system uses smart technology to improve safety and efficiency of travel using a combination of:

lane use management signs to open and close lanes if there is an incident
stop/go lights on freeway entry ramps to balance out the amount of traffic entering the freeway at once
CCTV cameras
travel time information signs
electronic message signs
automatic incident detection systems.

Weaving and merging when motorists are trying to get on and off at different exits and entries is a common cause of congestion on the West Gate Freeway.

We're reducing congestion by building, express lanes between the M80 Ring Road interchange and the West Gate Bridge. These will separate traffic going to the city from those entering and exiting the freeway which will reduce weaving and merging.

Ramp signals will be used on entries to the freeway to manage the flow of traffic needing to merge and help ease congestion.

Electronic message signs will let you know when the signals are operating.

Learn more about Traffic and freight on the West Gate Freeway.

We've installed two new pedestrian bridges that connect communities to essential community services, like schools and shops, from either side of the West Gate Freeway.

The vital walking and cycling paths offer links between the suburbs of Altona North with Brooklyn and a second pedestrian overpass between Spotswood and Yarraville.

The new wider bridges allow pedestrians and cyclists to comfortably share the space and are fitted with safety features such as lighting and higher barriers.

We've also improved access for those with mobility needs, with the bridge having both steps and accessible ramps on both sides of the West Gate Freeway.

We're building new high-quality noise walls to achieve a new noise standard for residents along the West Gate Freeway to experience a significant reduction in noise.

The 9km of new and improved noise walls are being built to a high standard and have been designed with residents in mind to protect privacy, reduce traffic noise to create quieter homes, backyards and parks.

Using the new express lanes on the West Gate Freeway.

New lanes open on West Gate Freeway — In March 2024, new lanes on both the outbound and inbound lanes on the West Gate Freeway were open.

Widening works of the West Gate Freeway in progress and an aerial view of Rosala Avenue pedestrian bridge.

Then: Widening the West Gate Freeway near the M80 interchange.

Now: The M80 interchange with newly asphalted lanes and strengthened bridges.

What we're building

Learn more

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