Drivers will be able to access nearly nine kilometres of new lanes from 1 April 2017 as part of the widening CityLink Tulla project.

From the early hours of Saturday morning, drivers heading to or from the CBD on CityLink between Flemington Road and the West Gate Freeway will now have an additional traffic lane available each way, including the Bolte Bridge.

Drivers will also notice emergency lanes have been replaced by new overhead lane use signs that can transform any lane into an emergency lane, as well as provide drivers advanced notice of lane closures or reduced speed limits in the event of an incident ahead.

The new digital signage is supported by CCTV cameras that will identify accidents or breakdowns requiring CityLink incident response crews or emergency services.

Construction crews have worked more than 2 million hours to finish these upgrades and will continue to work on building an extra lane on the Bolte Bridge exit ramp to reduce queuing, as well as an extra inbound lane on the West Gate Freeway.

On average, motorists will save 16 minutes in the morning peak and 17 minutes in the afternoon peak when the upgrade is completed.

Stretching for 24 kilometres from Melbourne Airport to Power Street in Southbank, the CityLink Tulla Widening project is due to be completed in 2018 and is creating 1400 direct and indirect jobs.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Roads and Road Safety Luke Donnellan

“We’re getting on with the job and opening up 9 kilometres of extra lanes that will slash travel times and boost safety for drivers travelling between the airport and the city.”

“Construction crews have been working around the clock to get the job done – so we can get Victorians home safer and sooner.”