The Geelong Ring Road (formerly known as the Geelong Bypass and the Geelong Outer Freeway, officially part of

Princes Freeway Princes Freeway is a Australian freeway, divided into two sections, both located in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The freeway links Melbourne to Geelong in the west, and to Morwell, Victoria, Morwell in the east. It continues be ...

West) is a freeway

ring road A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop, bypass or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city, or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist i ...

in Australia beside

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

's western suburbs from the

at Corio to the

Princes Highway Princes Highway is a major road in Australia, extending from Sydney via Melbourne to Adelaide through the states of New South Wales, Victoria (Australia), Victoria and South Australia. It has a length of (along Highway 1) or via the former ...

Waurn Ponds Waurn Ponds is a mainly residential southern suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The suburb is bounded by Rossack Drive, Princes Highway, the Geelong to Warrnambool railway, Reservoir Road, Draytons Road, Pigdons Road, Deakin University and ...

. It also connects to the Midland Highway towards

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...

, and the

Hamilton Highway Hamilton Highway is a rural highway in western Victoria, Australia, linking Geelong and the town of Hamilton, through the localities of Inverleigh, Cressy, Lismore, Derrinallum, Darlington, Mortlake, and Penshurst. Glenelg Highway links Ham ...

History

One of the first plans for a

dates back to 7 March 1969, when a report was released by the then Geelong Regional Planning Authority. It said that the ring road could be delayed for up to 15 years. In the mid-1970s the Geelong Regional Planning Authority, Chairman by Colin K. Atkins OAM, sponsored the Geelong Transportation Plan, which canvassed a number of options for major road construction in the area. One was for a north–south

freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...

along the line of Latrobe Terrace, though

Geelong West Geelong West is a commercial and residential suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. When Geelong was founded, the area was known as Kildare but its name was changed to Geelong West in 1875. The main street is Pakington Street. At the 2016 c ...

and

Chilwell Chilwell is a village and residential suburb of Nottingham, in the borough of Broxtowe of Nottinghamshire, west of Nottingham city. Until 1974 it was part of Beeston and Stapleford Urban District, having been in Stapleford Rural District until ...

, and another was for Aberdeen Street to be upgraded into a major road with the acquisition of 99 houses. Any freeway construction through the suburbs of the city was vetoed after residents objections. The final plan advocated the construction of what became the Geelong Ring Road, although it also proposed that Latrobe Terrace become a 4-lane arterial road. In 1979 a Melbourne firm carried out acoustic testing at

Wandana Heights Wandana Heights is a residential suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. Suburban development of the suburb commenced in the 1980s which due to the current high property prices in Australia, and the fluctuation of prices in previous years housi ...

to ascertain the impact of a freeway. The alignment was finalised in 1979 and appeared as a proposed freeway in the

Melway Melway, colloquially referred to as Melways or The Melways, is a street directory for Melbourne,street directory A road map, route map, or street map is a map that primarily displays roads and transport links rather than natural geographical information. It is a type of navigational map that commonly includes political boundaries and labels, making it a ...

for a number of years. Growing traffic volumes through the centre of Geelong led to Latrobe Terrace being converted into a major arterial road in early 1989, with the construction of a bridge over the Geelong-Melbourne railway line at its northern end, and the James Harrison Bridge over the Barwon River at its southern end.

Road classification

The passing of the ''Road Management Act 2004'' granted the responsibility of overall management and development of Victoria's major arterial roads to

VicRoads VicRoads is a government joint venture in the state of Victoria, Australia. In the state, it is responsible for driver licensing and vehicle registration. It is owned and operated through a joint venture between the Victorian government and a c ...

: in 2012, VicRoads declared the road as part of the Princes Freeway West (Freeway #1500), beginning at Corio-Waurn Ponds Road (

) at Corio and ending in

Sections

The project was renamed the Geelong Ring Road on 20 February 2007. Construction on the Geelong Ring Road began in early 2006 with the freeway section to Waurn Ponds scheduled for completion in 2009. A total of $384 million from the Victorian and Federal Governments was committed initially to fund the first three sections of the project. The Geelong Ring Road (freeway type) was to be constructed in three sections as follows: * Section 1: Princes Freeway, Corio to Midland Highway, Bell Post Hill * Section 2: Midland Highway,

Hamlyn Heights Hamlyn Heights is a residential suburb of Geelong. It located to the west of the city on hills that overlook Corio Bay. It was named after Sidney Hamlyn, a local resident in the 1940s. At the , Hamlyn Heights had a population of 6,293. The ...

to Hamilton Highway,

Fyansford Fyansford is a township on the western edge of Geelong, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, named after Captain Foster Fyans who came to Geelong as a Police magistrate in October, 1837. It is located at the junction of the Barwon River (Vi ...

* Section 3: Hamilton Highway,

to Princes Highway,

There was much local debate on the proposed route for Section 3. The final decision was made on 7 July 2006, while construction commenced in September 2007. It was ultimately decided that there would be no toll when the Geelong Ring Road opened to traffic. Sections 1 and 2 were officially opened on Sunday, 14 December 2008. Two days of torrential rain beforehand threatened to disrupt the opening, however it went ahead as planned after a cessation of the storm. The two sections were opened by Victorian Premier

John Brumby John Mansfield Brumby (born 21 April 1953) is the current Chancellor of La Trobe University and former Victorian Labor Party politician who was Premier of Victoria from 2007 to 2010. He became leader of the Victorian Labor Party and premier ...

, who announced the naming of the feature bridge on stage two of the road as the "

Lewis Bandt Bridge The Lewis Bandt Bridge is an Australian feature bridge over the Moorabool River, close to the southern end of Stage 2 of the Geelong Ring Road. Section 2 from the Midland Highway to the Hamilton Highway at Fyansford, (along with Section 1), was o ...

", in honour of the

Ford Australia Ford Motor Company of Australia Limited (known by its trading name Ford Australia) is the Australian subsidiary of United States-based automaker Ford Motor Company. It was founded in Geelong, Victoria, in 1925 as an outpost of Ford Motor Comp ...

engineer who is credited as the inventor of the

Utility vehicle A utility vehicle is a vehicle, generally motorized, that is designed to carry out a specific task with more efficacy than a passenger vehicle. It sometimes refers to a small truck with low sides. Types of utility vehicles Military light u ...

, in Geelong. Section 3 was opened in June 2009. * Section 4: split into three sub-sections: ** Stage 4A (Connection from Geelong Ring Road to Anglesea Road) ** Stage 4B (Connection from Anglesea Road - Princes Highway West) ** Stage 4C (Surf Coast Highway connection, later renamed Baanip Boulevard) In October 2007, during the 2007 Federal election campaign the Labor party promised $107.5 million for the fourth stage of the road. It was made up of $45 million for stage 4B, on top of their promise made in September for $62.5 million towards Stage 4A. In May 2008 stages 4A and 4B were given the go ahead, with State Premier John Brumby announcing $65 million in funding for stage 4B, in addition to earlier State Government funding of $63 million for stage 4A. Running from the Princes Highway at

; it will run from Anglesea Road near Hams Road, through the Blue Circle Quarry to the Princes Highway, near Draytons Road. On 17 December 2008 a $62 million contract was awarded to Fulton Hogan to design and build section 4A of the ring road to Anglesea Road. Section 4A opened in December 2011, and Section 4B opened in February 2013. The State and Federal Governments have also each committed $110 million to duplicate the Princes Highway to

Winchelsea Winchelsea () is a small town in the non-metropolitan county of East Sussex, within the historic county of Sussex, England, located between the High Weald and the Romney Marsh, approximately south west of Rye and north east of Hastings. Th ...

. An extra stage connecting the road to the

Surf Coast Highway The Surfcoast Highway (and its northern section within Geelong as Torquay Road, and its southern section as Surf Coast Highway) is a semi-rural highway in Victoria, Australia, connecting the city of Geelong with the coastal town of Torquay. Th ...

was also investigated. This stage (Section 4C) opened on 3 June 2015, six months ahead of schedule, and later gazetted as Baanip Boulevard, after

Willem Baa Nip Willem Baa Nip (1836–1885) also known as King Billy, Wormebaneep, William Gore or Billy Wa-wha, was a member of the Wadawurrung ( Wathaurung). Born in 1836 on the banks of a lagoon believed to be located in central Geelong near what is now Little ...

, a local Wathaurung man well known to the Geelong community during the 1800s. A shared bicycle and pedestrian pathway has also been built along the freeway from Broderick Road, Corio to Church Street, Hamlyn Heights. Built at a cost of $4 million, the trail will not connect into the Geelong bicycle network, due to a short missing link between Church Street and the Fyansford Common.

Future

A future extension of the Ring Road known as Section 5 or the Bellarine Link has been proposed which will extend the Geelong Ring Road from Baanip Boulevard to Portarlington Road. Since 2017, early planning has been undertaken by the Victorian Government to determine a preferred alignment for a future extension, however it is unlikely that this section will be built in the short-term. , the link is still being planned and developed.

Construction

Sections 1 and 2 The design and construction contract for the section 1 was awarded to

Abigroup Abigroup was an Australian construction company. History Abigroup was established as Graham Evans & Co in 1957 as a civil engineering company within New South Wales, being renamed Abignano in 1961. In 1981 it was listed on the Australian Securiti ...

in November 2005 for $134.8 million. Construction work commenced on 17 February 2006. Section 2 was delivered via two separate design and construction contracts. The contract for of freeway was awarded to Cut and Fill Pty Ltd for $31.7 million, while FRH (now Fulton Hogan) won the $15.5 million contract for the Moorabool River bridges. Construction work on section two commenced on 27 September 2006. The Creamery Road overpass in Bell Post Hill was the first major element of the project to be opened in January 2007 (a number of minor access road deviations had been completed earlier). The Broderick Road overpass was opened in November 2007. The 200m long bridges over the

Moorabool River The Moorabool River is a river in Victoria, Australia, that runs past several small towns and areas such as Meredith, Victoria, Meredith, Anakie, Victoria, Anakie, and Staughton Vale (north-west of Geelong). The river joins with the Barwon River ...

, the largest on the project, had the final span installed on 6 March 2008. The bridges contain 70 beams and have 12 piers. In 2007 VicRoads said that section one was to be completed by February 2008, but by that time completion had been pushed out to the middle of 2008. By this time earth works were completed on stage two, with 700,000 cubic metres of earth moved, and installation of noise walls had started along with landscaping. By May 2008 completion of stages one and two of the road has been delayed until November, with VicRoads stating that ''"wet and cold weather in recent weeks had prevented sealing the road surface"''. At this time the Victorian Government permitted the filming of a plane crash scene from the

Nicolas Cage Nicolas Kim Coppola (born January 7, 1964), known professionally as Nicolas Cage, is an American actor and film producer. Born into the Coppola family, he is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Gu ...

film '' Knowing'' on the incomplete road at Corio. Local police expressed concerns about a staged opening of the road, with drivers using temporary shortcuts not suited to heavy traffic and large vehicles. Construction on sections 1 and 2 reached practical completion when the road opened to traffic on 14 December 2008. Section 3 The $108.3 million design and construction contract for section 3 was awarded on 25 July 2007 to

. Section three works include 7.5 kilometres of freeway, the transportation of 4.7 million cubic metres of earth, and twin 110-metre long bridges over the Barwon River. Construction of section 3 commenced on 14 September 2007. By February 2008 550,000 cubic metres of earth had been moved to the north and south of Barrabool Road, and the foundation works for the arch structure over Wandana Drive were complete. Section three was originally scheduled for completion in the second half of 2009 however it was announced in early June 2009 that section three would open 6 months early on 14 June 2009. Section 4A The design and construction contract for section 4A was awarded to Fulton Hogan on 16 December 2008 for $61.7 million. Construction began in March 2009 and was completed by the end of 2011.

Economic benefits

The freeway saves fuel and travel time for commuters and cargo trucks. The completion of the Geelong Ring Road was expected to bring large economic benefits to the region. Approximately of land west of the road has been identified for use as new industrial land, however resistance from nearby residents in the

Lovely Banks Lovely Banks is a northern suburb of Geelong, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Once an agricultural and rural area, the suburb is quickly developing into a residential area adjoining the Geelong suburbs of Bell Park, Victoria, Bell Par ...

area to two service station developments cast some cloud over future development.

Criticism

Some opponents of the construction of the Geelong Ring Road feared that the inclusion of the road in the local Geelong roads ecosystem would have adversely affected the environmental conditions in the Geelong area. One point made was that it would "generate millions of tons of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide pollution in the Geelong and

Corio Bay Corio Bay is one of numerous internal bays in the southwest corner of Australia's Port Phillip, and is the bay on which abuts the City of Geelong. The nearby suburb of Corio takes its name from Corio Bay. Etymology When Hamilton Hume and Willi ...

region". More likely however is that the overall difference would not be significant, as traffic that would previously have travelled through the centre of Geelong via the main Melbourne Road/Latrobe Terrace/James Harrison Bridge/Settlement Road/High Street/

West corridor, would now travel via the Geelong Ring Road, improving the environmental condition for the majority of Geelong residents, by removing that traffic from the most heavily populated areas of the city. There has been no environmental study that shows that the construction of the Geelong Ring Road would adversely affect the environment. The loss of amenity experienced by residents in the immediate vicinity of the freeway corridor due to the severing of a number of local roads was also a source of criticism, but most of these roads have been reconnected via upgraded existing roads, or the addition of new roads. The main opposition to this project had nothing to do with environmental issues. In 1991 VicRoads undertook its own study and decided to abandon plans to utilise the Section 3 route in favour of a bypass from Avalon Road across Corio Bay to Point Henry and then along the Barwon River valley to the Surf Coast Highway, Anglesea Road and Princes Highway West. As a result of VicRoads decision the freeway reservation south of Princes Highway West to the Anglesea Road was abandoned and was developed as residential allotments with the approval of VicRoads and South Barwon Council. Over the next 11 years many people built houses along the route especially from Wandana Drive to the Princes Highway West. Then in 2001 the Victorian Government initiated a project to investigate options for a Geelong Bypass. It involved a steering committee, technical committee and Community consultation committee. After 18 months the expectations based on information provided to participants was that the VicRoads preferred route would be recommended. To the surprise of almost all Westconnect - the route to the west of Geelong including the abandoned Section 3 was recommended. Much later it was found that someone had re-costed the eastern route as a full 2 lanes each way freeway construction - even though such a construction was not warranted - and that re-costing made the eastern route uneconomic. Immediately opposition was generated by those who had built close to the Ring Road reservation. VicRoads proposes 4 alternate routes with the result that further opposition was generated from people located close to Options 2 and 3. In May 2005 during negotiations between Planning Panels Victoria and VicRoads over an environmental Effects process, Planning Panels requested VicRoads minimise the Options to be considered. VicRoads obliged by reducing the Options to 1 and 2 , even though Option 3 was the best Option . As a result, during the EES process a huge amount of pressure was put on the Planning Panel in respect of consideration of Option 3 but they only agreed to consider it if neither 1 or 2 satisfied the criteria being considered. In its recommendation, in spite of neither Option 1 or 2 satisfying the criteria . Planning Panels recommended Option 1 plus an urgent need to consider further work to overcome the problems with Option 1 including the fact it ended in the middle of a commercial area with nowhere to go to connect to Anglesea Road et cetera. As a result, the estimated cost of the route to Anglesea Road and then around to Princes Highway West is $618 million - about $200 million more than Option 3 plus a connection to Anglesea Road would have cost. In addition the fact that the route is longer than Option 1, that most freight traffic comes from the west, and the route requires trucks to negotiate slopes down into the Waurn Ponds Valley and then back out again means the additional cost to users is around $10 million per annum. Finally around 360 households are located within 160 metres of the Ring Road and subject to noise and diesel engine particulate matter pollution whereas with the Option 3 route only 10 houses would have been within 160 metres.

Exits and Interchanges

Both Geelong Ring Road and Baanip Boulevard are entirely located within the

City of Greater Geelong The City of Greater Geelong is a local government area in the Barwon South West region of Victoria, Australia, located in the western part of the state. It covers an area of and, had a population of 271,057 as of the 2021 Australian census. ...

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...

Geelong Ring Road

Baanip Boulevard

Gallery

File:Geelong Ring Road section 2 2009.jpg, Looking south from the Midland Highway along section 2 towards the

and Waurn Ponds. File:Geelong Ring Road section 3 2009.jpg, Looking south along section 3 from the Hamilton Highway, towards the Barwon River crossing and the climb over the Barrabool Hills.

References

External links

Vicroads - Information on Section 1

Geelong Ring Road - Section 1, Abigroup

Geelong Ring Road - Section 3, Abigroup

YouTube Video of Opening - "Geelong Ring Road: Open To The Public
{{Road infrastructure in Victoria Transport in Geelong Highways in Victoria (Australia) Proposed roads in Australia Ring roads in Australia Highway 1 (Australia)