Projects

Lara Six Ways intersection upgrade

The intersection of Station Lake Road, Patullos Road, and Forest Road (Lara Six Ways) is being upgraded to improve safety and reduce travel times.

Project status:

Planned

What we're doing

Big Build Roads is upgrading the intersection of Station Lake Road, Patullos Road, Forest Road North and Forest Road South, known as Lara Six Ways, on behalf of Transport Victoria.

The Lara Six Ways Intersection Upgrade will:

replace the existing single lane roundabout with traffic lights
add new signalised pedestrian crossings
remove the right turn from Kees Road onto Patullos Road
remove the right turn from Flinders Avenue onto Station Lake Road and Station Lake Road onto Flinders Avenue
add additional lanes at the intersection
relocate the Pioneers’ Memorial Cairn and the public toilet block.

Traffic lights were identified as the preferred solution following technical studies and feedback received at community drop-in sessions held in 2018-2019.

Image of overview map of the Lara six ways intersection upgrade

Benefits

Provides safe crossing opportunities between retail, community facilities, schools, and residential areas.
Reduced congestion through central Lara improving travel time reliability to key facilities, including the Lara Train Station and the V/Line service to Geelong and Melbourne.

What We’ve Heard

Community Feedback

From 30 June to 27 July 2025, we asked for community feedback on the proposed use and development of land for the project and the project boundary plan. This feedback will be included in the report to the Minister for Planning.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to provide feedback. We received 250 survey submissions and met with numerous businesses and community members.

Key themes raised in the feedback included:

Intersection Design and Traffic Flow: The most common theme, with 78% of respondents commenting on the proposed traffic lights and intersection layout. This included comments on specific turning movements.
Construction and Business Impacts: 25% of respondents commented on managing construction disruptions and maintaining access for local businesses.
Active Travel: 22% of submissions focused on the need for safer crossings and paths for pedestrians and cyclists.
Pioneers' Memorial Cairn: 9% of survey submissions highlighted the heritage significance of the monument and the importance of its respectful relocation.

For more information on what you’ve said, please view the full report

What’s next?

The feedback received has been analysed and used to prepare a Consultation Summary Report. This report has been submitted to the Minister for Planning as part of the planning application for the project under Clause 52.35 Major Road Projects of the Greater Geelong Planning Scheme.

We will continue to keep the community informed as the project progresses towards construction.

Next Steps

Planning and design work is currently underway, as the upgrade progresses toward construction. Key activities include:

on-site investigations including identifying underground utilities and testing ground conditions
developing the project design and construction approach
engaging with utility providers.

To help inform planning, a range of site assessments will be undertaken. To ensure these assessments are completed safely, there may be temporary lane closures and reduced speeds at times. Traffic disruption will be kept to a minimum and busy periods will be avoided, where possible.

Construction timelines will be known once planning is further progressed.

Access changes

To add new lanes at the intersection the ability for vehicles to turn right across multiple traffic lanes needs to be restricted.

These changes will improve safety for road users, lower the risk and severity of crashes and improve traffic flow by preventing drivers from attempting risky and uncontrolled movements.

Station Lake Road and Flinders Avenue

To add new lanes at the intersection along Station Lake Road, the ability for vehicles to turn right from Station Lake Road onto Flinders Avenue and to turn right out from Flinders Avenue onto Station Lake Road needs to be restricted.

Motorists will still be able to:

turn left from Station Lake Road onto Flinders Avenue
turn left from Flinders Avenue onto Station Lake Road.

To access Flinders Avenue when travelling westbound on Station Lake Road, motorists will need to do a U-turn at the new traffic lights.

To access Station Lake Road westbound from Flinders Avenue, turn left onto Station Lake Road Service Road and then turn right onto Station Lake Road from an existing access point.

Image of Station Lake Road and Flinders Avenue upgrade map

Patullos Road and Kees Road

To add new lanes at the intersection along Patullos Road, the ability for vehicles to turn right across multiple traffic lanes from Kees Road onto Patullos Road needs to be restricted.

Motorists will still be able to:

turn left from Kees Road onto Patullos Road
turn left from Patullos Road into Kees Road
turn right from Patullos Road into Kees Road.

To access Patullos Road westbound from Kees Road, motorists will need to make a U-turn at the new traffic lights or drive west along Patullos Service Road and turn right onto Patullos Road from Benjamin Drive.