Fulton Hogan has been awarded the $300 million contract to deliver works on Melbourne’s M80 Ring Road upgrade project between Sunshine Avenue and Calder Freeway. The iconic EJ Whitten Bridge is also included in the upgrade works.
The $300 million project is part of a joint funding agreement between the Australian Government and the Victorian Government – each providing $150 million.
Minister for Urban Infrastructure Paul Fletcher said the M80 Ring Road project will ease congestion and ensure a safer road experience for the 160,000 vehicles that use the freeway daily.
“This upgrade will provide a vital injection of jobs, unlock economic capacity, and better serve our communities now and for decades to come,” Mr Fletcher said.
“The project will upgrade 3.2 kilometres, resulting in more lanes in each direction, improved interchanges, a better experience for pedestrians and cyclists via a revamped shared user path, and widening, strengthening and safety improvements to the EJ Whitten Bridge.”
Speaking on the EJ Whitten Bridge, Fulton Hogan said they understood the importance of the contract to connect communities.
"It is more than just cars on the road, it represents Melbourne’s workforce getting to and from work safely and on time to meet the needs of the local community and economy. It’s school runs, bus routes and access to the north-east and western suburbs with connections to the CBD," said Fulton Hogan in a company statement.
Check out the walk-through video of the upgrade project here.
Victorian Minister for Roads, Road Safety Luke Donnellan said that they are upgrades on the M80 will include road widening from two lanes to four lanes in order to fix the bottleneck at Sunshine Avenue.
The upgrade will also create a jobs boost of nearly 1350 direct and in-direct roles.
Upgrade works will begin in a few weeks and the project is expected to be completed by late 2018.
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Source: Premier of Victoria and Fulton Hogan