Punt Road commuters face delays from Monday for new construction

Commuters on one of Melbourne’s busiest roads are about to undergo one year of disruption.
Construction at the Punt Road intersection with Swan Street will start on Monday for the second phase of the $110 million Streamlining Hoddle Street project.
There will be single-lane closures and reduced speeds on Punt Road, Olympic Boulevard and Brunton Avenue.
Eventually, Roads Minister Luke Donnellan says the new ‘continuous flow’ intersection will mean less time at red lights and shorter peak-hour queues.
City-bound motorists turning right onto Olympic Boulevard will get a dedicated, earlier turn-off to reduce the burden at the traffic lights.
Mr Donnellan said the 15 per cent of traffic that take the right turn are currently given 45 per cent of green lights.
The continuous flow intersection will reprioritise the lights and cut travel times, he told reporters on Sunday.
It will also deliver new cycling and walking connections on Swan Street and Olympic Boulevard, which will also get new accessible tram stops. Accessible bus stops will also be built for Punt Road.
One northbound left-hand turn lane onto Brunton Avenue will also be permanently closed from mid-October.
About 330,000 people and 90,000 cars move through Hoddle Street and Punt Road every day, making it Melbourne’s busiest arterial road.
It was closed between the Eastern Freeway and Victoria Parade for an eight-day construction ‘blitz’ in January, which the government says delivered a 30 per cent travel time saving.
Monday’s disruptions come after Herald Sun reported congestion was worsening in Melbourne every year, according to data from GPS company Here Technologies.
Some thoroughfares got down to 1km/h in peak periods.
“Melbournians have never before felt under so much pressure,” Shadow Roads Minister David Hodgett said in a statement on Sunday.
Mr Donnellan said it validated the work the government was doing to upgrade the road and transport network.
“We know we need to do more, and that’s why we’re here today doing another project to ensure that we keep Victorians travelling.”