MOTORISTS in North East Victoria are being warned to plan ahead and allow extra travel time as the first of a number of oversized truck loads began their journey from Benalla to the West Gate Tunnel Project’s site last Wednesday night.
The first load carrying locally-manufactured pre-cast concrete segments from LS Precast departed around 9pm, travelling down the Hume Highway overnight, before finishing its journey in Yarraville by 5am. Subsequent loads are planned for today, Wednesday, December 9 and Monday, December 14.
Each of these trucks are around 4.5 metres wide and 53 metres long. Due to their size, they will move very slowly, between 5km/h and 40km/h and there may be times when they have to use two lanes.
Drivers travelling at the same time as the oversized trucks need to plan ahead, follow the guidance of pilot vehicles travelling with the load and only overtake when it is safe to do so.
A number of oversize loads are planned over the next 24 months travelling on several approved routes depending on their load size. These routes have been carefully planned to ensure the least amount of disruption to motorists and residents.
Residents will be kept up to date as the project progresses with a dedicated page on the West Gate Tunnel Project’s website.
Members of the public can head to https://westgatetunnelproject.vic.gov.au/construction/port-to-city/benalla-deliveries which will provide monthly updates on the transportation schedule.
The concrete segments will be used to build an elevated road above Footscray Road that will connect the West Gate Tunnel with the Port of Melbourne, CityLink and Melbourne’s CBD.
Plan your journey, check real time travel advice at traffic.vicroads.vic.gov.au and allow plenty of time to get to your destination.
Real-time traffic conditions are available at traffic.vicroads.vic.gov.au or via the VicTraffic mobile app. The latest public transport information and network status is available at ptv.vic.gov.au or in the PTV mobile app
