Projects

Great Ocean Road and inland routes upgrades

Built by First World War (WWI) diggers and almost 100 years old, the iconic Great Ocean Road is being upgraded to ensure future generations can enjoy it as much as we do.

Project status:

Underway

Overview

The Victorian Government has invested $255 million to the Great Ocean Road and its inland routes.

This includes $140 million to upgrade and improve the resilience of the Great Ocean Road and another $115 million to upgrade inland routes between the Great Ocean Road and the Princes Highway, which are vital connections for tourism, freight and local communities.

Update – May 2025

We are rebuilding and resurfacing sections of the Great Ocean Road at Princetown.

From 19 May 2025, our crews will carry out investigations and then pavement rehabilitation works along a section of the Great Ocean Road at Princetown between Princetown Road and Booringa Road.

What to expect during works

From 19 May 2025, crews will work Monday to Friday between 7am and 5.30pm and some weekends between 7am and 1pm. Work is expected to be complete in June, weather permitting.

Some vegetation clearing will be undertaken to allow for the works, with relevant permits in place.

There will be some lane closures, as required, and speed reduced to 40km/h in the works zone to protect both workers and drivers. The speed limit will return to 60km/h each day after works.

Traffic controllers will be on site to safely guide you through the area.

Please look out for changed traffic conditions, plan ahead and allow extra time for your journey.

There will be travel delays of 5 to 10 minutes and travellers may like to seek an alternative route.

Access to properties on Great Ocean Road, including the Twelve Apostles Visitor Centre, will remain open.

Road rehabilitations

Thank you for your patience while we work on the Great Ocean Road and its inland routes.

We’ve been working hard to upgrade and improve these roads to ensure they can continue to carry millions of people each year as Victoria’s iconic tourist region.

We've been working to rehabilitate the pavement along the Great Ocean Road and its inland routes, including sections of:

Birregurra-Forrest Road
Cobden-Port Campbell Road
Colac-Lavers Hill Road
Forrest-Apollo Bay Road
Great Ocean Road, Allansford
Great Ocean Road, Nullawarre
Great Ocean Road, Peterborough
Great Ocean Road, Mepunga
Princetown Road
Timboon-Nullawarre Road, Winchelsea
Winchelsea-Deans Marsh Road
Winchelsea-Deans Marsh Road, Winchelsea South

Program of works 2024-25

Our current program of works in the design and delivery stages:

Bridge upgrades
- Great Ocean Road
Inland routes
- Kennedy Creek bridge
- Scotts Creek bridge
Geotechnical program
- Retaining walls and rockfall netting at:
  - Colac-Lavers Hill Road
  - Forrest-Apollo Bay Road
  - Great Ocean Road, between Lorne and Apollo Bay
  - Timboon-Port Campbell Road
- Erosion control rock armour walls at:
  - Kennett Creek
  - Petticoat Creek

Safety upgrades

We’re creating a safer road environment on the Great Ocean Road and its inland routes through various safety treatments, including:

a speed change at Aireys Inlet
installation of pedestrian refuges on the Great Ocean Road at Albert Ave, Aireys Inlet and Strathmore Drive East, Jan Juc
installation of a pedestrian refuge on the Great Ocean Road and new right turn lanes into Odonohue Road, Anglesea
installation of pedestrian refuge on the Great Ocean Road and right turn lane into Lialeeta Road, Fairhaven
new turning lanes from the Great Ocean Road into Gundrys and Addiscott roads, Bellbrae, and installation of pedestrian refuge
installation of pedestrian crossing facilities at existing signals at the intersection of Great Ocean Road and Duffields Road, Jan Juc
installation of electronic school zone speed limit signs at Deans Marsh
road rehabilitation, pavement widening and installation of safety barriers on Princetown Road, Cooriemungle and New Irrewillipe Road, Irrewillipe
formalisation of right turn lane and pavement widening at the Colac-Lavers Road and Barongarook Road intersection, Barongarook
installation of road barriers at Birregurra-Forrest Road, Barwon Downs
new wombat crossings in Apollo Bay
an intersection upgrade at Princes Highway.
We’ve completed other minor safety upgrades under this program, including sites at Anglesea, Apollo Bay, Big Hill, Saint George River and Timboon.

Traffic impacts

We are working at various locations as we continue to upgrade and improve the resilience of the Great Ocean Road and its inland routes. Vital works to ensure the road remains strong include road rebuilding, bridge strengthening, geotechnical works, and safety upgrades.

We'll make every effort to minimise disruption to traffic while works are completed.

Our work sites may include any of the following traffic management:

lane closures
reduced speed limit
traffic lights or controllers
electronic message signs
detours.

Please look out for changed traffic conditions, plan ahead and allow extra time for your journey.

Emergency works

In the case of unforeseen events, emergency works may occur to ensure the safety of the roads and road users. Please be aware of signs and drive to changed conditions, which may include reduced speed limits and temporary lane closures.

Bridge upgrades

Along the Great Ocean Road and its land routes, we have delivered bridge upgrades and strengthening projects to improve safety and connectivity.

Completed bridge works on the Great Ocean Road include:

Gellibrand River bridge
Sheoak Creek bridge
Saint George River bridge
Calder River bridge
Ford River bridge.

Geotechnical works

Geotechnical engineering works are essential to protect the longevity of the natural roadside landscape of the region and improve safety for all road users travelling across the network.

Completed works along the Great Ocean Road and its inland routes include:

20 rockfall netting sites
20 retaining walls.

Works will continue at various locations over 2024 and 2025.

History of the Great Ocean Road

Thursday 19 September 2019 marked 100 years from the day WWI diggers commenced construction on the Great Ocean Road.

To celebrate the centenary, we proudly supported an event series in September 2019 from Great Ocean Road Tourism, which featured a new documentary, gala screenings, pop-up cinemas in shipping containers and new art and augmented reality activations from Torquay to Apollo Bay.

The documentary, titled ‘The Story of the Road’, showcased how the road came to be—detailing its construction by WWI returned servicemen and their lives as they built the now 243-kilometre-long road, joining the isolated towns lining the western Victorian coastline.

We now use modern technology to protect and improve this historic coast route, to ensure it remains strong and safe for future generations.