Image of an aerial view of the Alchetser Village intersection upgrade

Projects

Alchester Village Intersection Upgrade

We are upgrading the Mountain Highway, Colchester Road and Albert Avenue intersection in Boronia to a signalised intersection with additional lanes and safer crossings for pedestrian and cyclists.

Project status:

Underway

Project Update – June 2025

The Alchester Village intersection upgrade is nearing completion.
Major construction works on the project are expected to be complete by 31 May 2025.

Following this, we will move to the final stage of works, which includes:

Night works to apply a final layer of asphalt and permanent line marking across the project area
Switch-on of signalised pedestrian crossings, with all vehicle movements permitted
Landscaping and planting
Installing permanent signage.

From Sunday 1 June 2025 we will be working at night with changes to traffic management in place to complete final asphalting and line marking.

When to expect us

From Sunday 1 June 2025, between 7pm and 6am each night there will be lane and full closures of Mountain Highway, Colchester Road and Albert Avenue at different times to lay the final asphalt and apply line marking to the new road surface.

These works will continue for up to four weeks. However, we will pause work for the King’s Birthday long weekend from Friday 6 to Monday 9 June 2025.

What to expect

The works will be completed at night to minimise disruptions to local traders and the road network.
NOTE: Specific traffic management arrangements and disruptions will change from night to night when we asphalt different sections.
Most nights, traffic management will involve closing one carriageway of Mountain Highway with both directions of traffic moved to the other side of the road.
At times, an overnight closure of Colchester Road between Beresford Road and Mountain Highway will be in place. At other times, we will close Albert Avenue between the Mountain Highway and 177 Albert Avenue. Please follow detour signage and traffic controller instructions.
Different detour routes will be used as the work location changes. This may include Beresford Drive, Allambanan Drive, Dorset Road, Lockwoods Road, Army Road, Dorrigo Drive and Casuarina Avenue.
There will be periods of noise and some dust. A road profiler will remove a thin layer of existing road pavement to prepare a smooth and even surface for the new asphalt. The profiler requires use of the horn as an operational safety procedure.
Additional temporary lighting will be used on site to keep our crews safe.

There will be temporary access changes to residential properties while asphalt cools. A project representative will contact affected properties in advance and help find alternate parking if required.

Public transport

For the latest public transport information, please check the PTV website and look out for signs at bus stops.

What we’ve done so far

Image of street view of the works at the Alchetster Village intersection upgrade

We’re taking a staged approach to deliver these major works efficiently and safely, while minimising disruption to the community.

Between June 2024 and April 2025 we successfully achieved the following major milestones:

Service relocations: Substantial service relocations, including power, telecommunications, water and sewerage, have now concluded.

Roundabout: During August 2024 we removed the old roundabout and installed a temporary traffic arrangement to keep the intersection operating during construction.

Colchester Road: In late September/early October our crews worked on Colchester Road to replace the road foundations and lay a new road surface. We also installed a temporary roundabout and linemarking at the intersection.

Interim traffic lights: During February and March we completely removed the temporary roundabout from the intersection and installed interim traffic signals. This formally marked the transition from a roundabout to a signalised intersection.

Drainage: We have completed substantial drainage works on the northern and southern sides of Mountain Highway, to the east and west of the intersection.

Mountain Hwy: Surfacing works, new kerb and median installations and linemarking has been completed on Mountain Highway on both sides of the intersection.

Why drainage matters
Drainage is a fundamental part of road construction. Drainage infrastructure transports water away from the surface and structure of a road to help keep the surface dry. This protects the road from erosion and prevents slippery or unsafe driving conditions. Drainage also helps to prevent runoff into surrounding properties.

Support for local businesses

While we complete this important upgrade, the Alchester Village shopping precinct remains open for business as usual, with access maintained at all times for traders, suppliers and customers.

In October and November 2024 we ran a digital and social media campaign featuring some familiar faces from the village to reinforce to the community that ‘Alchester Village is open for business’.

To further encourage the community to support the Alchester Village businesses, we recently delivered $10 shopping vouchers to 1800 letterboxes around the intersection. These are valid for redemption until the end of May 2025.

We encourage the community to continue to shop locally during works and support local businesses during this important upgrade.

Environmental care

We have worked closely with designers, independent environmental specialists and Knox City Council to retain as many existing trees as possible, balancing this with the need to improve the intersection.

We are partnering with Knox City Council on a comprehensive landscaping program once construction is complete, planting around 90 new trees and 300 shrubs and groundcovers as part of this program.

Project background

This project is part of the Victorian Government’s $117 million Local Road and Intersection Upgrade program, announced in the 2020/21 Budget. The program is targeting suburban roads across Melbourne, reducing bottlenecks for drivers and improving safety for all road users.

The intersection of Mountain Highway, Colchester Road and Albert Avenue is a single lane roundabout from all approaches with left turn slip lanes provided on the north-west and south-east quadrants of the intersection.

Concerns were raised by the community regarding safety at the intersection and difficulties crossing at all legs of the roundabout, particularly during peak periods.

Based on the crash history for the five-year period ending June 2020, there were a total of four crashes at the intersection, including one crash at the Alchester Crescent and Albert Avenue intersection. The crashes involved:

The right turn movement at Alchester Crescent, resulting in other injury
Three cross traffic movements, all resulting in other injury.

To address these issues, the Victorian Government has committed funding to replace the existing roundabout with a signalised intersection with additional lanes and new pedestrian crossings.