Projects

Princes Highway Corridor Upgrades – Morwell River Bridge strengthening, Morwell

We’re keeping freight moving by strengthening the eastbound and westbound Morwell River bridges on the Princes Highway, west of Morwell, as part of the Princes Highway Corridor Upgrades project.

Project status:

Planned

The Princes Highway East is one of Victoria’s key freight corridors, connecting Melbourne to Gippsland, and plays a vital role in supporting the region’s industries and economy.

We’re strengthening the eastbound and westbound Morwell River Bridges on the Princes Highway, west of Morwell.

Works are expected to start on both bridges in late 2026 and be completed in mid-2027.

Details

The works will strengthen key parts of both bridges and resurface sections of the Princes Highway to support safer, more efficient freight travel.

This includes upgrades to the bridge foundations, supports and beams.

Traffic impacts

We understand roadworks can be disruptive and we will make every effort to minimise the impact on road users.

There will be some disruption to traffic on the Princes Highway at times with lane closures and reduced speed limits.

We will provide advance notice of traffic changes as the construction starts and works progress.

Overview

Victoria’s freight industry is growing every year, increasing the need for roads that help people and goods move easily and safely.

The growth of larger vehicles that can carry more freight is essential to increasing the capacity of Victoria’s road network without significantly increasing the number of heavy vehicles on our roads.

Stronger bridges on the Princes Highway deliver lasting benefits to producers, industries, and communities in Gippsland by ensuring these larger vehicles can cross.

Transport Victoria is delivering these bridge strengthening works, which are jointly funded by the Australian and Victorian governments, with both committing $22.37 million, as part of the Princes Highway Corridor Upgrades project.

Protecting our environment

We understand the complex balance of connecting communities whilst caring for our natural environment.

We’re committed to performing our works in a thoughtful and considered way to reduce impact on the environment.

We share the value the community places on the environment and will work hard to minimise disturbance to native wildlife and vegetation.

These measures will include:

obtaining the necessary environmental approvals
fencing to protect vegetation and native fauna habitat
waterways permits and water quality monitoring of Morwell River, and
scheduling works within waterway outside of the Australian Grayling fish spawning season.