Projects

Canterbury Road Improvements Waterloo Street to Sunset Drive

We’re improving safety, connectivity and traffic flow at the Canterbury Road and Waterloo Street, Great Ryrie Street and Sunset Drive intersections in Heathmont.

Project status:

Underway

Update - March 2026

Major construction works are underway and are expected to be completed this month (March).

We’ve completed the first stage of major works at the Waterloo Street and Canterbury Road intersection and switched on the new traffic lights. The intersection is open to traffic. Temporary street lighting will be on site while we await the permanent power connection for the streetlights in partnership with the power authority.

We’ve implemented the new speed limit on Canterbury Road of 60km/h between west of Waterloo Street and Sunset Drive, in both directions.

The pedestrian crossing across Canterbury Road at Great Ryrie Street has reopened.

Sunset Drive at Canterbury Road is open to traffic. The permanent right turn bans into and out of Sunset Drive are now in place.

Night works

The next stage of works will involve asphalting and line marking works on both sides of Canterbury Road between Great Ryrie Street and Sunset Drive. These works will be completed at night to minimise traffic disruption and keep crews safe.

When to expect night works

Night works are expected to start from Tuesday 10 March and take up to two weeks to complete. Crews will be working between 9pm and 5am. Please note, dates and times are subject to change due to weather conditions.

What to expect during night works

Lane closures on Canterbury Road between Great Ryrie Street and Sunset Drive. One lane in each direction will remain open to traffic.
Temporary closures of Sunset Drive at Canterbury Road and Great Ryrie Street at Canterbury Road. Please follow signed detour routes.
Medium to high levels of noise at times. Crews use modern equipment to keep noise low, however, the works will unavoidably emit some noise and light. For the safety of road users and workers on site, reversing beepers are required on all machinery.
Crews will work progressively to prepare and asphalt in sections, so activity and noise levels will vary throughout this stage of works. A reduced speed limit of 40km/h during works to ensure the safety of crews and all road users.

Temporary bus stop relocation

From Wednesday 25 February 2026, works to upgrade the existing bus stop at Great Ryrie St/Canterbury Rd will begin . Works are expected to take approximately two weeks to complete. During this time, the bus stop will be temporarily relocated approximately 5 metres east of the existing bus stop’s location.

Works will include:

Demolishing the existing bus stop, some of the surrounding footpath and kerb.
Reconstructing the bus stop with a hard stand area and shelter.
Reconstructing some of the surrounding footpath, and the kerb and channel.

What to expect during works:

A lane closure on Canterbury Road at the Great Ryrie Street intersection in the eastbound direction.
Medium levels of noise. Crews use modern equipment to keep noise to a minimum. However, the works will unavoidably emit some noise. For the safety of road users and workers on site, reversing beepers are required on all machinery.
Some vibrations and dust around the work site.
Crews will be on site between 7am and 5pm, Mondays to Fridays. There may be times where crews will work on Saturdays.

Please note, these dates and times are subject to favourable weather conditions.

What we're doing

Opening the median at Waterloo Street and installing new traffic lights and pedestrian crossings.
Installing dedicated right turn lanes into and out of Waterloo Street.
Removing the U-turn from Canterbury Road travelling eastwards at Great Ryrie Street.
Adding new line markings and making changes to the traffic light operation on Great Ryrie Street allowing right turns from both lanes.
Making the right turn from Canterbury Road into Great Ryrie Street fully controlled.
Installing a new bus stop and indented bus lane with hook turn on Canterbury Road on the south side of the Great Ryrie Street intersection.
Removing the right turn in and out of Sunset Drive.
Upgrading the existing bus stop at Great Ryrie St/Canterbury Rd by installing a new rear-facing bus shelter, concrete base and pedestrian tactiles.

Artist’s impressions

Click on the green buttons below to see the artist’s impressions of the improvements as before and after sliders.

Before and After of Canterbury Road

Before and After of Sunset Drive and Canterbury Road intersection

Before and After of Waterloo Street and Canterbury Road intersection

Map of Canterbury road, Waterloo street and Sunset drive upgrade.

Download a version of the upgrade map

Image description: Map showing the improvements being made to the Canterbury Road intersections with Waterloo Street, Great Ryrie Street and Sunset Drive.

Project benefits

This project will:

improve access for vehicles to and from Waterloo Street
improve pedestrian safety and connectivity near Waterloo Street
keep traffic flowing with the new traffic lights linked with nearby traffic lights to optimise efficiency
provide better public transport connectivity in the area
provide safer access to and from side roads.

Bus stop changes

We will convert the existing school bus stop bay on Canterbury Road on the south side of the Great Ryrie Street intersection into a dedicated bus stop for Route 679. We will extend the indented bus lane and provide a hook turn for buses to turn into Great Ryrie Street safely.

This new bus stop will provide better connectivity for public transport users, particularly for commuters who live and work south of Canterbury Road.

We will also improve the existing Great Ryrie St/Canterbury Rd bus stop by installing a new bus shelter, concrete base and pedestrian tactiles. These improvements will provide better accessibility for public transport users.

Speed limit change on Canterbury Road

The speed limit on Canterbury Road from west of Waterloo Street towards Sunset Drive has been reduced from 70km/h to 60km/h in both directions to support the safe operation of the new traffic lights at Waterloo Street. This provides a consistent speed limit in both directions of this section of Canterbury Road to support the safety, connectivity and traffic flow improvements being made.

The speed limit on Canterbury Road from approximately 150 metres west of Waterloo Street towards Wantirna Road remains as 70km/h.

Please see map below for further details.

Map of Canterbury road improvements and Waterloo Sunset.

Download a version of the speed limit change map

Image description: Map of the speed limit change on Canterbury Road in Heathmont that will be implemented as part of the improvement project.

Parking changes

To help keep traffic moving and to ensure the safety of drivers, we will be making changes to street parking surrounding the intersection of Canterbury Road and Waterloo Street.

New parking restrictions will be in place to help traffic flow smoothly through the area:

A new no stopping at any time zone will be in place on the north side of Canterbury Road between Great Ryrie Street and 241 Canterbury Road.
We’ll be changing the existing time based no stopping zone in front of Heathmont Reserve to be no stopping at any time.
A new no stopping at any time zone will be in place along Waterloo Street on the Heathmont Presbyterian Church side from the intersection with Canterbury Road to the church’s southern driveway entrance.

Environment

We share the value that the local community places on the environment and work to minimise our impacts on the environment as much as possible during all stages of our projects.

To open the median and install traffic lights, create additional turning capacity, and build a safe bus stop everyone can use, we needed to trim and remove some trees within the project area. We needed to remove twenty-one planted trees and shrubs at the intersection of Canterbury Road and Waterloo Street. We also needed to remove some native vegetation and shrubs including one large tree at Heathmont Reserve.

Prior to any vegetation removal, we investigate and work with designers to try to retain existing trees and vegetation, balancing this with the critical need to improve road safety.

We’re working with Council to offset the tree removals, with trees and vegetation to be replanted in the local area. The project area on Canterbury Road is not suitable for replanting due to safety risks, so replanting will be done outside of the project area by Council.

Project background

Canterbury Road is a key corridor in Melbourne’s east. At the intersection of Great Ryrie Street and Sunset Drive there has been a significant crash history and in the ten-year period between 2012 and 2022 there have been multiple crashes, some of which resulted in serious injuries.