The Victorian Government has invested $183 million towards the repair and resurfacing of suburban roads as well as major highways across Melbourne. Three contracts have also been awarded for the construction of the roads.
This upgrade program will fix more than 200 roads including the Princes Highway, Nepean Highway as well as Hume Highway and arterial suburban roads across Melbourne. Major arterial roads in the south east are also going to be repaired including Healesville-Koo Wee Rup Road, Centre Dandenong Road and the South Gippsland Highway.
Roads in the northern suburbs - including Heidelberg Road, St George Road and the Greensborough Highway - have also been targeted for upgrades.
“These are the suburban roads that we rely on every day to get to work, take the kids to school and visit friends and family - it’s vital that we make sure that our local roads remain safe and reliable,” Member for Burwood Will Fowles said.
To deliver the works, Downer EDI Works, Fulton Hogan Industries and Sprayline Road Services have been appointed. Approximately 100 new jobs are going to be created over a three-year period in line with the contract awards.
The program will also cover roadside clearing across the metropolitan and regional Victoria. The roadside clearing works will help minimise the risk of of grassfires and bushfires. Clearing works will grass cutting as well as the removal of undergrowth and fallen trees.
Other works included in the multi-million dollar upgrade program will comprise of roadside infrastructure improvements; replacing and repairing damaged assets like signs, safety barriers and fences.
With this program of road upgrades, thousands of potholes and cracks are going to be filled, with over 224 kilometres of road repaired over the next year.
“This is the biggest road maintenance blitz Melbourne has ever seen, filling thousands of potholes, fixing hundreds of kilometres of roads and creating around 100 jobs,” Minister for Roads and Read Safety Jaala Pulford said.
Works are expected to commence this months, with majority of the construction to be carried out during the warmer summer months.
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Source: Premier of Victoria; Herald Sun; The Age; The Sydney Morning Herald