Six months ahead of schedule, the Prime Minister and the Premier of Victoria turned the first sod on the $2.25 billion upgrade of Melbourne's Western Ring Road.
The Western Ring Road upgrade will support up to 6,500 jobs during construction and 5,500 flow-on jobs.
By acting early and decisively to bring construction forward on projects that are ready to go, we are creating jobs and boosting the national economy during the global financial crisis.
Once complete, the construction works will add extra lanes and enhance traffic management systems to improve traffic flow on the 38 kilometre road between Princes Freeway in Laverton North and the Greensborough Freeway, Greensborough.
The Rudd Government committed $900 million at the last election towards the upgrade and has brought forward $5 million in 2008-09 for construction to begin today.
The early works will commence on the extra Altona-bound lane from the Deer Park Bypass to Boundary Road and are expected to be complete by mid-2009.
The Australian and Victorian Governments are also investing $12 million towards planning, scoping and modelling works on the full upgrade project.
The Ring Road is a key freight route and an important connection for many growth areas in Melbourne, currently carrying up to 142,000 vehicles per day, of which 16 per cent are freight traffic, with capacity often exceed during peak periods.
Traffic on the Western Ring Road is heavily congested, with speeds as low as 20 kilometres per hour in peak periods.
This project will significantly help cut down travel times for motorists and the freight industry.
Once complete, the upgrade will also help improve safety for motorists and local families on a road that has seen nine fatal and 750 casualty crashes in the last five years.
The Ring Road connects with a number of major freeways and arterial roads such as the Western Highway, Calder Freeway, Tullamarine Freeway, Sydney Road and the Hume Freeway.
Melbourne's population is expected to grow by 1.4 million by 2036, with nearly 50 per cent growth to occur in areas serviced by the ring road such as Werribee, Melton, Hume and Whittlesea.
In 2008-09, the Rudd and Brumby Governments are investing almost over $1.1 billion in road and rail projects in Victoria, including:
* $331 million for the Deer Park bypass and Leakes Road Interchange;
* $618 million for the Geelong Ring Road; and
* $174 million for the Dynon Port Rail Link.
The Rudd Government is also investing $51 million in 2008-09 to make an early start on election commitment projects, including:
* $25 million to start the Westgate Bridge rehabilitation;
* $6.5 million to start the 4A section of the Geelong Ring Road; and
* $5 million to start the Western Highway duplication planning.