Western Freeway realignment at Pykes Creek
Planned
What we’re doing
Big Build Roads will be delivering the Western Freeway Realignment at Pykes Creek on behalf of Transport Victoria, to improve safety and provide smoother and more reliable journeys for drivers.
As part of the upgrade, we’ll:
- realign and straighten the Western Freeway Ballarat-bound lanes at Pykes Creek
- widen lane widths and road shoulders
- install new safety barriers
- lay new asphalt and line marking.
Overview
The Western Freeway is a key connection between Melbourne and Adelaide, carrying more than 13,000 vehicles per day, which includes supporting freight movements.
We’re improving safety on the Western Freeway near Pykes Creek by realigning and straightening more than 1km of the Ballarat-bound lanes.
Realignment works will replace the current three lanes with two wider lanes and straighten curved sections of the road. This will improve visibility and create safer, smoother and more predictable driving conditions, enabling traffic to flow more efficiently.
The upgrade will also include wider road shoulders to provide more space and better access for incident management.
The realigned lanes will provide more suitable road conditions to support a 110km/h speed limit, lowering the need for reduced speeds in this section and further contributing to improved traffic flow.
Benefits
Drivers travelling on this section of the freeway will benefit from:
- improved visibility and safety
- reduced risk of collisions
- a more predictable and reliable journey
- enhanced driving conditions
- smoother journeys and improved traffic flow
- reduced risk of collisions
- better access and space for incident management
Funding
This project is jointly funded by the Australian Government, Victorian Government and the Transport Accident Commission as part of the Target Road Safety Works Package.
Next steps
Detailed planning work for the realignment is expected to be complete in late 2025.
Key activities to help with planning include:
- on-site investigations to test ground conditions
- refining the project design
- developing the construction approach
- environmental investigations to better understand flora, fauna and tree species
- appointing a construction partner.
To ensure these investigations are completed safely, there may be temporary lane closures and reduced speed limits in place at times.
Traffic disruption will be kept to a minimum and busy periods will be avoided, where possible.
Timeline
Construction is expected to start in 2026 and be completed by 2027.
As planning progresses, further information about the timing for construction will be provided to the community.
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Get in touch
To find out more about this project, please contact Big Build Roads.
Email: [email protected]
Call: 1800 105 105