By Laura Michell
Dangerous bottlenecks and crash hot spots on the M80 Ring Road between Sydney and Edgars roads will be removed as part of a $518 million upgrade.
The federal government recently awarded CPB Contractors the contract to upgrade the four-kilometre stretch of the ring road.
Work will begin early next year and the project is expected to be completed in early 2023.
The upgrade will include new lanes, entry and exit ramps and a freeway management system to boost capacity and improve safety.
The Sydney Road entry and exit ramps will be extended, giving drivers more time to merge.
Federal Population, Cities and Urban Infrastructure Minister Alan Tudge said the upgrade would make the ring road safer.
Since 2014, there have been 88 crashes on the ring road between Sydney and Edgars roads, including 28 serious injury crashes and one fatality.
According to the government, most of the crashes occur on freeway on and off ramps or an on and off ramp merging lanes.
“This upgrade will add new lanes, boost capacity, bust congestion, and remove dangerous weaving by traffic at entry and exit points to make the M80 Ring Road safer and more efficient,” Mr Tudge said.
“The upgrades to the M80 will remove bottlenecks in Melbourne’s growing northern suburbs and bring relief to thousands of drivers each day, providing better access to local and arterial roads.”
State Thomastown MP Bronwyn Halfpenny said the upgrade would provide better connections to reduce congestion.
“New ramps connecting to the Hume Freeway and Edgars Road will give our community a safer and more efficient connection to the ring road,” she said.
The Sydney Road to Edgars Road section is the fifth part of the ring to be upgraded in recent years.
