Victorians have been told to get familiar with major changes on the Princes Freeway and M80 before hitting the road over summer, with the risk of missed turn-offs and long detours ruining holiday travel.
The West Gate Tunnel toll road will open to vehicles on Sunday, creating a new way to travel from the city to the western suburbs and western Victoria.
The Western Ring Road and West Gate freeway interchange.Credit: Joe Armao
Along with the new river crossing, the project has rearranged on and off-lanes on parts of the major highways to access Geelong and the Surf Coast, Ballarat, Bendigo and on the trip into Melbourne.
Drivers are being advised to get in their correct lane early, or they could end up stuck travelling in the wrong direction for up to nine kilometres, delaying their arrival by 20 minutes or more.
Major Road Projects Victoria CEO Duncan Elliott said that many of the freeway changes had been in place for up to 12 months, but may still catch out infrequent travellers.
“But the important thing is that one of the new exits is the tunnel. For the holidaymaker, it’s really just making sure that you are prepared,” Elliott said.
“It’s going to take some time for people to get used to it. That’s really a combination of ensuring that they’re staying alert, looking at the signs, looking at the road markings and actually following their maps.”
A giant new spaghetti junction linking the Princes Freeway and M80 Ring Road at Laverton North is where motorists will make key decisions that could make or break their holiday journey.
Travellers from Geelong heading to inner-western suburbs such as Williamstown or Yarraville will need to get in the left-hand lanes just before the junction – which is a full six kilometres before their Williamstown Road turn-off.
Failing to do so means getting stuck in the new express lanes direct to the West Gate Bridge, and a nine-kilometre detour over the bridge and back to finally get off on Williamstown Road.
Elliott said the express lanes were faster and safer because there was no traffic merging from on-ramps through the western suburbs.
Heading out from the city to the M80 Ring Road, Ballarat and Bendigo, motorists need to be in the correct lanes by the time they get to Grieve Parade or they’ll face an eight-kilometre detour towards Geelong and back to finally make the turnoff.
Elliott said the most common journey using the new toll road after it opens would be for travel between the western and northern suburbs, including Melbourne Airport, with the tunnel avoiding both the Bolte and West Gate bridges.
“That’s taking a fairly significant length of trip out for people,” he said.
Motorists will need to make an early lane decision to avoid a lengthy detour.Credit: Joe Armao
Elliott also said it would take some time for traffic to settle in, with the recently opened Wurundjeri Way extension getting only around 2000 vehicles a day when it first opened in October, before growing to 10,000 a day within a week.
“It’ll be much the same for the tunnel, but on a much bigger scale because we’re dealing with so many more different trip options,” he said.
RACV head of policy James Williams said that drivers should review their routes before leaving the house, including understanding which lane they need to be in for their destination and merging into the lane well before the exit point.
“Before you start your trip, set up your hands-free device, connect your Bluetooth, and enter your destination into Google Maps or your navigation system,” Williams said.
“If you do miss your exit, remember it is illegal to stop on a freeway unless it is an emergency. Remain calm and take the next available exit and detour to your destination.”
Motorists will pay $4.09 for a car and $6.54 for a ute or van to use the new West Gate Tunnel under Yarraville. The tolls will be on top of any CityLink tolls they incur on their journey. Travel will be free on the West Gate Tunnel during January.
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