Western Highway – Realignment of Anthonys Cutting

The completed Hopetoun Park Road overpass opened to traffic.
Work on the Western Highway realignment continues underneath.

The Djerriwarrh Creek bridge will be the tallest of its kind in Victoria.

Construction on the new Western Highway alignment at Anthonys Cutting is progressing well with the opening of the Hopetoun Park Road bridge to traffic in late December 2010.

The bridge is the first of six to be completed as part of the five kilometre realignment but will be dwarfed in comparison to the largest of the six structures, the Djerriwarrh Creek bridge. At 165 metres long and 30 metres high, it will be the tallest bridge of its kind in Victoria and is expected to be completed in early to mid 2011.

More than 1.2 million cubic metres of earth has been moved as part of the construction of the new four lane, dual carriageway freeway which will extend from Harkness Road, Melton West to Bacchus Marsh Road at Bacchus Marsh. Tie-in works with the existing highway have commenced at both ends of the project and completion of the realignment is on schedule for early 2012.

The section of the Western Highway between Melton and Bacchus Marsh has a very high crash rate, more than double that of adjacent sections of freeway. The new alignment will provide significantly safer driving conditions by avoiding the steep grades, tight curves and local intersections on the current highway.

When completed, the new alignment will also deliver major economic benefits for the road freight industry and its customers. Significant travel time and cost savings can be expected for goods and produce transported between Melbourne, Ballarat, western Victoria and beyond.

NB-ESP contributed $5.6 million to accelerate the commencement of this project.

The Australian Government is contributing $160 million to this $200 million project with the Victoria Government Contributing $40 million.

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