Stage two to add lanes to freeway past Narre Warren; right-hand lane truck bans persist
The Victorian government has announced stage two of the Monash Freeway upgrade will begin ahead of schedule, while consolidating right-hand lane truck bans that were trialled earlier in the year.
There will be 36km of new lanes built past Narre Warren, with on-road technology providing live traffic information to be installed from the South Gippsland Freeway to the Beaconsfield Interchange.
The Monash will be expanded from eight to 10 lanes between Warrigal Road and EastLink to the west, and from four to six lanes between Clyde Road and Cardinia Road to the east.
The government says geotechnical work on stage two commenced early due to quicker-than-expected progress on stage one, which concluded in July, and the new upgrades of the $711 million project are said to create 600 new jobs.
“Early works are underway, the business case has been ticked off and we’ve shortlisted contractors to build this massive project – we’re getting on with the second stage of the Monash Freeway Upgrade,” Victorian roads inister Luke Donnellan says.
Drilling is taking place primarily on the Monash Freeway between the South Gippsland Freeway and Cardinia Road to review the ground conditions of where overhead lane-use management system gantries will be installed.
Construction of new lanes are to commence in the new year, and completion expected in mid-2022.
Meanwhile, the previous bans on trucks driving in right-hand lanes have been made indefinite.
Restrictions will continue to apply to trucks travelling in both directions between Huntingdale Road, Mount Waverley and Jacksons Road, Noble Park.
The initial six-month trial ban saw crashes reduce by almost 40 per cent, according to government figures.
“These right lane truck bans are reducing crashes, improving traffic flow and helping the 200,000 drivers that rely on the Monash to get home safely,” Donnellan says.