A section of Bulleen Road will be closed to traffic in both directions from tonight to make way for the new North East Link tunnel entrance and Yarra Link green bridge to be built.
Once complete, the 6.5km North East Link tunnels from Watsonia to Bulleen are expected to take 15,000 trucks off local roads a day and reduce travel times by up to 35 minutes.
Bulleen Road will be closed between Thompsons Road and Manningham Road from 8pm tonight, Friday November 24 to 7pm, Tuesday December 5.
During the closure, crews will build a new section of Bulleen Road, so that the road can remain open when tunnelling works commence in 2024, reducing disruptions. When the road re-opens in early December, traffic will use the new lanes on Bulleen Road.
Access to homes, businesses, schools and sporting grounds will remain open, with traffic management in place on either side of the full closure.
Those planning to drive between the Eastern Freeway and Manningham Road will need to detour via Thompsons and Manningham roads and allow up to 30 minutes extra travel time during peak periods.
There will also be speed reductions and overnight lane closures on the Eastern Freeway between Burke Road and Doncaster Road during this time.
While lanes are closed crews will begin setting up worksites ahead of major construction next year on first major upgrade of the Eastern Freeway since the 1990s.