The M80 Ring Road (also known simply as the Ring Road or by the names of its constituent parts; the Western Ring Road and the Metropolitan Ring Road) is a partially complete urban freeway

ring road A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop 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 in reducin ...

around

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. This article will deal with the entire length of the corridor for sake of completion, as well to avoid confusion between declarations. The ring road connects Melbourne's western suburbs and northern suburbs to other

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

urban and rural freeways (the West Gate and

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

s, Western Freeway,

Calder Freeway Calder Highway is a rural highway in Australia, linking Mildura and the Victoria/New South Wales border to Bendigo, in North Central Victoria. South of Bendigo, where the former highway has been upgraded to freeway-standard, Calder Freeway lin ...

Tullamarine Freeway The Tullamarine Freeway (commonly referred to as The Tulla), is a major urban freeway in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, linking Melbourne Airport to the Melbourne City Centre. It carries up to 210,000 vehicles per day and is one of Australia ...

and

Hume Freeway The Hume Highway, including the sections now known as the Hume Freeway and the Hume Motorway, is one of Australia's major inter-city National Highway (Australia), national highways, running for between Melbourne in the southwest and Sydney in ...

), and also relieves freight traffic from

Sydney Road Sydney Road (in its northernmost part also known as the Hume Highway) is a major urban arterial in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Geography Sydney Road starts at the northern end of Royal Parade at the boundary of Par ...

Pascoe Vale Road Pascoe Vale Road is a major thoroughfare through the northern suburbs of Melbourne, connecting the outer northern fringe to the inner northern suburbs. Route Pascoe Vale Road starts at the intersection with Somerton Road in Coolaroo, Victoria ...

and Geelong Road. With connections to every major interstate and regional freeway, it has encouraged both industrial and residential growth in Melbourne's western suburbs. A series of major upgrades along the entire route commenced in 2009, including widening and a Freeway Management System; the most recent section between Sydney and Edgars Roads commenced construction in 2020 and was completed in 2022, one year ahead of schedule. The

North East Link The North East Link is an under construction 10–kilometre tolled highway scheme in Melbourne, Australia. It will connect the Metropolitan Ring Road at Greensborough, Victoria, Greensborough with the Eastern Freeway (Melbourne), Easter ...

is currently under construction between the Greensborough Bypass, the north-eastern end of the Ring Road, with the Eastern Freeway. This will connect a freeway-standard ring road encircle Melbourne from

Laverton North Laverton North is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Wyndham local government area. Laverton North recorded a population of 119 at the 2021 census. Located ne ...

in the south-western suburbs to Frankston in the south-eastern suburbs.

Route

The Western Ring Road officially begins at the West Gate Interchange in

, with ramps to and from the

West Gate Freeway The West Gate Freeway is a major freeway in Melbourne, the busiest urban freeway and the busiest road in Australia, carrying upwards of 200,000 vehicles per day. It links Geelong (via the Princes Freeway) and Melbourne's western suburbs to ...

and Geelong Road, and heads north as a six-lane dual-carriageway until the Western Freeway/Fitzgerald Road interchange, widening to eight lanes and heading north-east, widening again to ten lanes at the Sunshine Avenue/McIntyre Road interchange and crossing the

Maribyrnong River The Maribyrnong River is a perennial river of the Port Phillip catchment, located in the northwestern suburbs of Melbourne, in the Australian state of Victoria. Course The Maribyrnong River draws its headwaters from near Mount Macedon within ...

over the EJ Whitten Bridge (named after

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

player

Ted Whitten Edward James Whitten Sr. Order of Australia, OAM (27 July 1933 – 17 August 1995) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Footscray Football Club in the Victorian Football League (1897–1989), Victorian Football League (VFL). Bo ...

. The freeway narrows to eight lanes at the

interchange, then narrowing further to six lanes at the Dalton Road interchange, and again to four lanes at the

Plenty Road Plenty Road is a major urban arterial road through the north-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from the inner suburb of Preston to the township of Whittlesea, just outside the north-eastern suburban fringe of Melbourne. The ...

interchange, before terminating at the Greensborough Bypass in Greensborough. The road has a non-peak speed limit of 100 km/h for almost its entire length; between Greensborough Bypass and Plenty Road, the speed limit drops to 80 km/h (formerly 90 km/h before freeway works completed). The Western Ring Road between the Western Highway and the

was previously configured with variable speed limits, which can vary between 60 km/h and 100 km/h depending upon traffic conditions. As of the 2009-2023 upgrades, all upgraded sections now feature a Freeway Management System (similar to the system in place on the M1 corridor) which provide more detailed information to drivers (including variable speed limits) and has replaced the previous variable speed limit system between Ballarat Road (the current name for the previous Western Highway) and the Tullamarine Freeway. Standard travel time for the M80 Ring Road is 25 minutes (17 minutes on the Western Ring Road and 8 minutes on the Metropolitan Ring Road) in both directions. However, peak period freeway travel times typically vary between 30 and 45 minutes in each direction, unless there are significant incidents, which can stretch travel times from 50 minutes to beyond one hour.

History

The Ring Road project was proposed as part of the

1969 Melbourne Transportation Plan The 1969 Melbourne Transportation Plan was a road and rail transport plan for Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia, instituted by Henry Bolte's state government. Most prominently, the plan recommended the provision of an extens ...

(F3, F5 & F7 Freeway corridors) and has documented in almost every edition of the

Melway Melway, colloquially referred to as Melways or The Melways, is a street directory for Melbourne, and was completed with the final link between the Calder and

s. Under the

Keating government The Keating government was the federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister Paul Keating of the Australian Labor Party from 1991 to 1996. The government followed on from the Hawke government after Paul Keating replaced Bob ...

, a total $555 million was provided by the

federal government A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

for the Western Ring Road, with a $76 million contribution from the

Victorian Government The Victoria State Government, also referred to as the Victorian Government, is the executive government of the Australian state of Victoria. As a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, the State Government was first formed in 1851 when Vic ...

The project is officially divided into two sections: * Western Ring Road: the section between the

and

Hume Highway The Hume Highway, including the sections now known as the Hume Freeway and the Hume Motorway, is one of Australia's major inter-city national highways, running for between Melbourne in the southwest and Sydney in the northeast. Upgrading of t ...

(now

). * Metropolitan Ring Road: the section between Hume Highway and Greensborough Bypass. The section between Greenborough Bypass and Plenty Road was originally called Northern Ring Road upon opening in April 1994, but was changed when the Plenty Road to Dalton Road section opened in November 1996, referred to since by VicRoads as the Metropolitan Ring Road. Completed in stages, the freeway opened to traffic as follows: * 1992 – Broadmeadows section (Stage 1, Tullamarine Freeway to Pascoe Vale Road), opened to traffic on 20 September 1992. * 1993 – Broadmeadows section (Stage 2, Pascoe Vale Road to Sydney Road), opened to traffic on 7 July 1993; this section includes the Jacana Tunnel, which won an Excellence Award in the Public Works category awards by the

Institution of Engineers Australia Engineers Australia (EA), known formally as the Institution of Engineers, Australia, is an Australian professional body and Non-profit organization, not-for-profit organisation whose purpose is to advance the science and practice of engineerin ...

. * 1994 – Greenborough Bypass to Plenty Road, 2.5 km section opened April 1994 (as "Northern Ring Road"), at a cost of $15.5 million. * 1995 – Maribyrnong section (Ballarat Road to Keilor Park Drive), opened July 1995, with the official opening of EJ Whitten Bridge by

Premier of Victoria The premier of Victoria is the head of government of the state of Victoria in Australia. The premier leads the Cabinet of Victoria and selects its ministers. The premier is appointed by the governor of Victoria, must be a member of the Vic ...

Jeff Kennett Jeffrey Gibb Kennett (born 2 March 1948) is an Australian former politician who served as the 43rd Premier of Victoria between 1992 and 1999, Leader of the Victorian Liberal Party from 1982 to 1989 and from 1991 to 1999, and the Member for ...

on 18 August 1995. * 1996 – Ardeer section (Boundary Road to Ballarat Road), opened 6 March 1996. * 1996 – West Gate/Princes Freeway interchange to Boundary Road, opened October 1996. * 1996 – Dalton Road to Plenty Road, opened on 28 November 1996, at a cost of $28.8 million. * 1996 – Keilor Park Drive to Calder Freeway, opened December 1996. * 1997 – Calder Freeway to Tullamarine Freeway, the final section of the Western Ring Road (from the West Gate/Princes Highway interchange to Hume Highway (now Sydney Road)), opened 5 June 1997. * 1999 – Sydney Road to Dalton Road, the final 6km section of the Metropolitan Ring Road (from Hume Highway (now Sydney Road) to Greensborough Bypass) opened 20 August 1999, at a cost of $140 million. The freeway was designated Ring Road 80 when its first stage opened, quickly replaced by Metropolitan Route 80 in 1992, and extended across successive stages as they opened. With Victoria's conversion to the newer alphanumeric system in the late 1990s, this was updated to M80 in 1997 (for the sections not declared a National Highway). The

Whitlam government The Whitlam government was the federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister Gough Whitlam of the Australian Labor Party. The government commenced when Labor defeated the McMahon government at the 1972 Australian federal elect ...

introduced the federal ''National Roads Act 1974'', where roads declared as a National Highway were still the responsibility of the states for road construction and maintenance, but were fully compensated by the Federal government for money spent on approved projects. As an important connecting road between other National Highways linking to the capitals of New South Wales and South Australia, a portion of the Western Ring Road between the Hume and Western Highways was declared a National Highway in 1993 - parts of which were yet to be built at the time - allowing for direct Federal funding of its construction. Once opened, this section was signed with a National Highway M80 shield, later extended east to the junction with the Hume Freeway when the Craigieburn bypass opened in 2005, and extended south to the junction with the Western Freeway when the

Deer Park bypass Western Highway is a major arterial route in western Victoria with a length of approximately of single carriageway, then of dual carriageway known as Western Freeway, linking the western suburbs of Melbourne to the border with South Australi ...

opened in 2009. It was later changed to a plain route M80 sign in 2013, for continuity with the rest of the freeway and to complement all infrastructure and signage during the 2009 to 2014 upgrade, although old signage still exists and has not yet been replaced. 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 an ...

: in 2004, VicRoads re-declared Western Ring Road (Freeway #1900) from

Fawkner Fawkner is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, north of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the Cities of City of Hume, Hume and City of Merri-bek, Merri-bek ...

, and Metropolitan Ring Road (Freeway #1880) from

to Greensborough Bypass in Greensborough; however sign-posting (and VicRoads' own Declared Roads website) subsequently state the name changes at the interchange with the Hume Freeway. From the upgrades beginning in 2009 onwards, it has been more common for both sections to be referred to as M80 Ring Road or simply the Ring Road, with newer signage and government websites increasingly reflecting this. An eastern extension to the Metropolitan Ring Road (the "missing link" to complete the ring road), tunnelling under Greensborough and through the Banyule Flats, to connect to Eastern Freeway at

Bulleen Bulleen ( ) is an eastern suburb in Melbourne, Australia, 13 km north-east of the Melbourne central business district, located within the City of Manningham local government area. Bulleen recorded a population of 11,219 at the 2021 census. ...

, has now started construction as the

project. A study has been initiated by

to supplement the Western Ring Road with an Outer Metropolitan Ring Road.

2009–2023 upgrades

Initial upgrading and widening works of the Western and Metropolitan Ring Roads was carried out between 2009 and 2014, funded by the Federal Government

AusLink AusLink is a former Government of Australia land transport funding program, that operated between June 2004 and 2009. The former program was administered by the former Department of Transport & Regional Services. In 2009, the program was replaced ...

2 program.

had originally produced an official "M80 Upgrade Website" with links to a newly created site showing video simulations, maps and scheduled traffic disruptions on the freeway, for already- or nearly-completed sections. The website was revamped when Major Road Projects Victoria, established in 2019, took over management of the project. The entire length of the freeway is being upgraded, within individual sections over a number of years. Initial work started in 2009 and work on some sections were completed in 2014. Along with the $2.25 billion upgrade, is a new 'Freeway Management System' that includes Ramp Signals (Traffic Lights located within on-ramps), overhead lane signs (electronic variable speed limits and lane symbols) & overhead electronic message boards; along with various new CCTV cameras and 'intelligent' sensors underground (to detect freeway congestion for signals). The entire upgrade is being jointly funded by the

State State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

and

Federal governments Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

, being fully controlled. managed and operated by

. This is the most major and expensive road upgrade in Victoria, since the M1 (Monash Freeway / Citylink) upgrade was completed in 2007/2008. In late 2009, construction began on the upgrade and widening of of the M80 from Princes Freeway at

to the Greensborough Highway at Greensborough. The first stage involved widening the stretch from Calder Freeway to Sydney Road from 6 to 8 lanes, and was completed in May 2013. Construction on the Western Highway to Sunshine Avenue section was completed in August 2013. Construction on the Edgars Road to Plenty Road section was completed in April 2014. Upgrades of the Princes Freeway to Western Freeway section were expected to commence from 2015 onwards as part of the western section of the East West Link, however the project was cancelled with a change of government at the 2014 state election. In mid 2015 to early 2016, the state and federal governments had announced in funding to upgrade the remaining sections along the ring road, previously allocated to the cancelled East West Link road project. Construction on the Sunshine Avenue to Calder Freeway section was completed in September 2018. The upgrade of the Sydney Road to Edgars Road section started construction in 2020 and was completed in May 2022.

Remaining upgrades

The upgrade of the Plenty Road to Greensborough Highway section will be included as part of the

project, which commenced construction in 2024 and will be completed in 2028. The Princes Freeway to Western Highway section is the last remaining section to be upgraded, however no funding has been allocated for planning or construction. However, minor upgrades to the Princes Freeway interchange are underway as part of the

West Gate Tunnel The West Gate Tunnel, formerly known as the Western Distributor, is a four kilometre toll road currently under construction in Melbourne, Australia, to link the West Gate Freeway at Yarraville with the Port of Melbourne and CityLink at Dock ...

project, having commenced construction in 2019 and a delayed completion in 2025. Panorama-M80-Western-ring-road-meets-Sydney-Road

North East Link

Currently, the easternmost point of the Metropolitan Ring Road terminates at Greensborough at the Greensborough Bypass. There have been numerous proposals, most recently the North East Link, to extend it to the Eastern Freeway/Eastlink, and thus complete the "missing link" in a freeway-standard

around Melbourne, starting from

and ending in Frankston. The resulting ring road will be similar to the size and scope of

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

's Orbital Motorway and would enable traffic to transit between the Hume and Calder Highways and Melbourne's outer east without having to cross Melbourne's inner suburbs. Once the road is built, it will run through areas that are environmentally and politically sensitive, such as Viewbank, Banyule Flats,

Eltham Eltham ( ) is a district of South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is east-southeast of Charing Cross, and is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. The three ...

Templestowe Templestowe is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 16 km north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Manningham local government area. Templestowe recorded a population of 16,966 at the . The ...

Warrandyte Warrandyte ( ) is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 24 km north-east of Melbourne's Melbourne City Centre, Central Business District, located within the City of Manningham Local government areas of Victoria, ...

. A inner-city link to the east was previously considered using the proposed tunnel to connect the Eastern Freeway with Melbourne's west, before its cancellation. A longer eastern route for the link, which was suggested during planning, would have resulted in existing

transmission line In electrical engineering, a transmission line is a specialized cable or other structure designed to conduct electromagnetic waves in a contained manner. The term applies when the conductors are long enough that the wave nature of the transmis ...

corridors being utilised. The official reservation for the extension ends at Ryans Road in Eltham North, but these transmission line corridors could be used to carry the freeway through to Eastlink in Ringwood. Environmental impacts would still be a problem including noise, pollution, possible destruction of vegetation and the interruption of wildlife crossings. A mostly tunnelled road would result in less environmental impacts but would be much more expensive. In July 2008, it was announced by then Premier John Brumby that the completion of the missing section was again being considered by the Victorian State Government as part of a wider plan to deal with Melbourne's traffic problems.The Age 8 July 2008—New orbital freeway plan for city
/ref> Environmental concerns about building the road through the green wedge and the disruption of communities in the area were raised. In December 2016, then Premier Daniel Andrews announced plans for extending the freeway. The project was initially estimated to cost at least $10 billion. In May 2016, Infrastructure Victoria released its new consultancy options assessment report,http://www.infrastructurevictoria.com.au/sites/default/files/images/Deloitte%20Aurecon%20-%20Options%20Assessment%201%20Report%20-%20FINAL.pdf.PDF, page 148 a preferred route was selected in 2017, early construction began in 2020, and major construction began in late 2022, for an expected completion in 2028.

Purpose

Much controversy surrounds the Metropolitan Ring Road project in Melbourne in many different topics including; environmental, economical, social, private & public transportation and both positive and negative aspects are well represented for each topic by many people and groups small and large. This has led to heavy debate in all areas of society in Melbourne from political and media to general public views and conversations. The road serves various uses: * integrating the metropolitan area by linking middle and outer suburbs * assisting circumferential travel through the middle suburbs as opportunities for cross town movement are limited * linking the growing populations in the south-east and west suburbs to jobs and economic opportunities throughout the metropolitan area * providing access to

Melbourne Airport Melbourne Airport , known locally as Tullamarine Airport, is an international airport serving Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Operating 24/7 service, 24 hours a day with on-site parking, shopping and dining, Melbourne Airport is the List of th ...

, the ports of Melbourne and

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

, and rail freight terminals, from all parts of Melbourne and from across the State * provide good access to the whole of the Melbourne metropolitan area to and from country Victoria and interstate.

Exits and interchanges

References

{{Road infrastructure in Melbourne Highways and freeways in Melbourne Ring roads in Australia Transport in the City of Wyndham Transport in the City of Banyule Transport in the Shire of Nillumbik Transport in the City of Brimbank Transport in the City of Whittlesea Transport in the City of Hume Transport in the City of Merri-bek