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Barwon Heads Road Upgrade Gets Underway
Contracts have been awarded to deliver the much-needed Barwon Heads Road Upgrade in Geelong.
The project will be delivered concurrently through a trio of construction partners, providing more opportunities across the construction industry and creating around 500 local jobs and about 1,400 indirect jobs – crucial to the regional recovery effort post-COVID-19.
Decmil, BMD Constructions and BildGroup will build the project in partnership with Major Road Projects Victoria.
Over the next month, crews will:
- Continue road widening
- Boundary fencing
- Utility relocations
- Site establishment works
Major construction is scheduled to begin in October this year.
The Barwon Heads Road Upgrade will add new lanes for approximately four kilometres between Settlement Road and Reserve Road, remove a dangerous level crossing at Marshall, and upgrade intersections at Settlement Road and Breakwater Road.
New traffic signals will also be constructed at Crows Road, Barware Road, Marshalltown Road and Reserve Road.
The Barwon Heads Road Upgrade will improve traffic flow and reduce congestion on Barwon Heads Road – a crucial arterial link between Geelong, the Bellarine and the growing Armstrong Creek residential precinct.
“By boosting capacity and removing a key traffic bottleneck, this upgrade will ensure the thousands of people who rely on Barwon Heads Road every day get to where they need to go sooner and safer,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.
Barnaby Joyce – Deputy Prime Minster and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development
Victorian Minister for Transport Infrastructure Jacinta Allan said the upgrade would provide better connections to active and public transport modes and ensure Barwon Heads Road could cater for the up to 44,000 daily journeys expected on the road by 2031.
“Greater Geelong has the largest population growth in regional Victoria, which is why we’re taking action to deliver not only this much-needed upgrade but a suite of Big Build projects in the region to provide better journeys for the people who live and work here,” Ms Allan said.
Jacinta Allan – Victorian Minister for Transport Infrastructure
The Barwon Heads Road upgrade will reduce travel times, increase safety for the growing Bellarine community and get people home faster.
“This much-needed upgrade will reduce travel times for the many families, business owners and essential services travelling between Geelong and the Bellarine and make a huge difference in safety for students and cyclists through better pathways and cycleways,” Senator Henderson said.
“I am delighted to have fought hard for the Barwon Heads Road upgrade which will mean so much to locals and visitors alike heading to our beautiful region.”
Sarah Henderson – Senator for Victoria
As part of the upgrade, on-road cycling lanes and an off-road shared-use pedestrian and cycling path will also be built, improving safety for vulnerable road users and allowing better connections to the Waurn Ponds Trail, the South Barwon Reserve, Belmont Common and the Barwon River Precinct.
A new bridge over the Melbourne-Warrnambool rail line removes the dangerous level crossing at Marshall, improving safety and traffic flow.
Victorian Member for South Barwon Darren Cheeseman said that getting on with this much-needed project is an excellent result for the local community.
“Projects like this are vital to our local economic recovery – it’s not only delivering a vital project but creates much needed local jobs and gets shovels in the ground as quickly as possible,” Mr Cheeseman said.
The Barwon Heads Road Upgrade is being delivered through a new partnership approach to road-building contracts, which means significant projects move from paper to pavement sooner and more quickly. This approach was supported by the Australian Government’s fast-tracking of the assessment and approval phases to support the release of funding for this critical project.
ENDS
Friday 17th September 2021 – Media Release
Read the Media Release here.
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