It’s been a long time between drinks when it comes to major new roads in Melbourne’s city centre, but things are on track to change next month. The Victorian Government has just announced that the brand new Wurundjeri Way extension – part of the massive West Gate Tunnel Project – will officially open to traffic on Monday, October 27.
If you’ve ever found yourself inching down Spencer or Kings Streets in bumper-to-bumper traffic, this is big news. The new four-lane connection will link Dynon Road in West Melbourne with Wurundjeri Way in Docklands, providing a long-overdue alternative route through the city. Crews have spent years putting it together, including building a new bridge over Dudley Street and widening parts of Wurundjeri Way to six lanes.
From day one, the extension is expected to carry more than 10,000 vehicles daily, ramping up to around 15,000 once the full West Gate Tunnel and elevated Footscray Road connections open later this year. For anyone who regularly travels between the inner west, Docklands, South Melbourne and the CBD, that means less gridlock, smoother journeys and fewer excuses for rocking up to work late.
It’s also a win for Docklands locals and workers – more than 73,000 people work there, and about 17,500 call it home – plus anyone heading to Marvel Stadium, where post-game traffic jams might just get a little less painful. When the West Gate Tunnel itself opens later in the year, the extension will offer an even cleaner run out west, all the way to Werribee, Geelong and the Surf Coast.
You can learn more about the project via the ‘Explore you Journey’ tool on the Vic Government website.
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