Hall Road upgrade intersection blitz hits

Lengthy peak hour delays on Hall Road will be a thing of the past with a staged construction blitz starting in October set to remove the congested roundabout at the Western Port Highway. Picture: Supplied

The Western Port Highway roundabout removal at Hall Road will start on 20 October as part of the Hall Road Upgrade.

The construction by Major Road Projects Victoria will run until Wednesday 20 December.

These works is set to replace the roundabout with a signalised intersection and increase lanes to improve travel times and reduce congestion.

Major Road Projects Victoria program director Brendan Pauwels said this intersection would be the fourth to be upgraded on Western Port Highway since 2019 to slash peak hour congestion, improve safety, and allow traffic to flow more smoothly.

The removal will be separated into two sections with a two-and-a-half week closure of Western Port Highway in both directions north of the Hall Road intersection from Friday 20 October until Wednesday 8 November at which time the intersection will fully close, reopening on Wednesday 20 December.

Major Road Projects Victoria will be able to coordinate the traffic signals along six kilometres of highway between Thompsons Road and Cranbourne-Frankston Road to ensure traffic moves smoothly after the installed traffic signals and extra lanes are carried out.

For the 10,000 daily road users who travel through this intersection each day, the upgrade will take 20 minutes off return daily peak hour commuting times on Hall Road.

Once these works are completed, the new signalised intersection will be open to traffic with four lanes running in each direction.

The last stage of major works to build the new intersection includes demolishing the existing roundabout, installing drainage, building the new lanes, kerbs, medians, and guardrails, installing traffic signals and public lighting, building the new shared walking and cycling paths, and asphalting and line marking.

This is the third and busiest of the four intersections being upgraded as part of the Hall Road Upgrade.

In June, the new Hall, Evans and Cranbourne-Frankston roads intersection was opened to traffic, followed by the new signalised intersection of Hall and McCormicks roads in August.

The intersection of Taylors and Hall roads is also being upgraded, with the southern leg of the intersection complete and works underway to finish the northern leg by early 2024.

The Hall Road Upgrade works in unison with other completed and ongoing Victoria Big Build projects covering the southeast such as the Lathams Road, Narre Warren-Cranbourne Road, Western Port Highway, and Thompsons Road upgrades to improve infrastructure for the rapidly expanding south-east region and provide better connectivity and faster travel times to residential and industrial areas.

The Hall Road Upgrade is slated for completion in late 2024.

With several major construction blitzes planned for the remainder of the year in Cranbourne, including the Narre-Warren Cranbourne Road Upgrade, Camms Road Level Crossing Removal, and City of Casey projects on South Gippsland Highway and Ballarto Road, Major Road Projects Victoria advised drivers to plan ahead and travel outside of peak periods if they can to minimise delays.