The first permanent section of road has opened to traffic as part of the North East Link project.
Representing the biggest ever infrastructure investment in Melbourne’s north east, North East Link will comprise of 6.5-kilometre tunnels linking Melbourne’s freeway network.
In a major milestone for the project, a section of the Bulleen Road Interchange is now open.
This new connection will allow traffic to keep moving while crews build the North East Link tunnel entrance and massive interchange that will connect the Eastern Freeway to the 6.5-kilometre tunnels.
To build the new 270-metre section of Bulleen Road, crews installed over 100 of the largest ‘Super T’ beams ever built in Victoria, each up to 43 metres long and weighing up to 126 tonnes.
Work is ramping up on the major upgrade to the Eastern Freeway, which includes new express lanes, managed motorway technology and Melbourne’s first dedicated busway.
In the coming months, crews will replace two key pedestrian bridges over the Eastern Freeway at Estelle Street (Balwyn) and Heyington Avenue (Doncaster).
To safely replace the existing bridges, sections of the Eastern Freeway will close at times overnight from late July to September.
In September, there will also be a planned weekend full closure of the Eastern Freeway between Doncaster and Tram roads to safely lift the new Heyington Avenue bridge over the freeway without endangering traffic below. Major delays of up to 90 minutes are expected, with motorists strongly encouraged to avoid the area.
The North East Link tunnels will connect the upgraded Eastern Freeway to the completed M80 Ring Road – cutting travel times by 35 minutes, skipping 18 sets of traffic lights and taking around 15,000 trucks off local roads a day.
This project is jointly funded by the Australian and Victorian governments. It will be complete in 2028.