WORKS on one of the components of the $331 million Deer Park Bypass started last week.
The Leakes Rd intersection with the Western Freeway at Rockbank will be upgraded to a grade separated full diamond interchange as part of the Deer Park Bypass project.
Works started at the Leakes Rd interchange last week.
The $16.7 million contract, awarded to Cut and Fill Pty Ltd earlier this year, is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2008, and will be the first completed component of the Deer Park Bypass project.
To improve safety, the current intersection will be replaced by a bridge over the freeway and ramps to provide access to and from the freeway in both directions.
Nationals Senator Julian McGauran described the Leakes Rd interchange as the ‘missing link’ in the joint government plan to bypass a congested section of the Western Highway containing 20 intersections and six sets of traffic lights.
“It forms part of a strategy to upgrade the Western Freeway between Deer Park and Melton, where the annual population growth exceeded 8.5 per cent,” he said.
The start of the Leakes Rd overpass represents the third element of the $331 million project along the Western Highway, around Caroline Springs and Rockbank.
The State Minister for Roads and Ports Tim Pallas said the interchange would provide the local community and motorists with greatly needed safety benefits.
“Several years ago, we upgraded a similar intersection at Hopkins Rd, turning a four-way intersection into an overpass,” he said.
“This has resulted in a dramatic drop in crashes and an improvement in travel conditions.”
