The $2.25 billion M80 Ring Road Upgrade has reached another major milestone with the opening of all traffic lanes between the Western Highway in Sunshine West and Sunshine Avenue in St Albans last night.
Federal Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development, Warren Truss, said the newly-widened freeway, featuring four lanes in each direction and five between Western Highway and Tilburn Road, would help improve traffic flow and deliver safer, smoother driving conditions for more than 142,000 motorists each day.
“The 38 kilometre M80 Ring Road is a nationally significant freeway, key to Victorian and interstate freight movements and for daily commuters travelling across metropolitan Melbourne,” said Truss said. “But in reaching this significant milestone, we absolutely realise there is more work to be done to shape the Australian transport landscape for the 21st century. An important part of this national vision is investing in Victorian infrastructure, which is why the Australian Government has committed $1.5 billion towards the construction of the East West Link.”
Victorian Minister for Roads Terry Mulder said that in addition to the extra capacity provided by the new traffic lanes, drivers would benefit from on-road and overhead electronic messaging designed to provide them with current travel time and lane use information.
“The Lane Use Management System (LUMS) will operate between the Western Highway and Sunshine Avenue, allowing VicRoads to adjust the speed limit and lane availability to suit road conditions and improve overall safety for drivers,” said Mulder. “The Victorian Government is providing VicRoads with the latest tools to better manage our roads and provide drivers with the information to safely navigate our freeway network.”
As well as switching on the LUMS, electronic signs displaying real-time travel times for destinations, such as the Melbourne Airport, have also been switched on at the Tullamarine Freeway interchange and near Airport Drive.