Drivers in Melbourne’s north are a step closer to a safer and less congested trip home, with work set to begin on the O’Herns Road Upgrade.

Member for Thomastown Bronwyn Halfpenny has announced that Maca Civil Pty Ltd has been awarded the contract to build stage one of the $81 million upgrade.

The upgrade will reduce congestion and improve safety on key arterial roads like Cooper Street, Epping Road, High Street and Miller Street. The project will replace the roundabout at the O’Herns Road and High Street intersection with traffic lights and a raised platform to improve safety.

O’Herns Road will be duplicated to four lanes through to the Hume Freeway, with new merging lanes, to help drivers safely enter and exit the Freeway without interrupting traffic flow.

The new traffic lights at O’Herns Road and High Street will be linked to the Epping Fire Station, allowing our firefighters to get on the road quickly and safely during an emergency.

The second stage of the project includes building a new interchange at O’Herns Road to provide easier access to the Hume Freeway.

The interchange will help to relieve congestion, improve reliability and traffic flow through the area and help get people home sooner.

By providing direct access between Epping and the Hume Freeway, it will also encourage the development of the local economy, including the Cooper Street employment precinct and will support further residential growth.

Forty local jobs will be created throughout the life of the project. The O’Herns Road interchange is a joint $81 million project between the Victorian and Commonwealth Governments.

Construction is due to start in early 2018 and be completed by late 2019.

“Local residents have been campaigning to replace this roundabout with traffic lights for years and I’m proud to say the Andrews Labor Government is getting with it and delivering the upgrades our community needs.”

“Fixing O’Herns Road will slash travel times and improve safety for drivers, while creating jobs and strengthening our local economy.”