Visitors to our beautiful surf coast, Western District and Great Ocean Road are going to be in for a much easier ride next time they pass through the region with the opening of the third section of our brand new ring road. The road linking the Princes Highway at Corio and Princes Highway at Waurn Ponds eliminates the Geelong city centre and over a dozen traffic lights with a scenic trip through the rolling Barrabool Hills on a traffic light free dual carriage way. The trip from Corio to Waurn Ponds takes about 15 minutes which can save up to 45 minutes on a busy day travelling through the city centre.
Early works of stage 1
The ring road has some magnificent views especially around the Highton and Ceres area with rolling hills and even a glimpse of the Ocean off Barwon Heads when heading north just before Waurn Ponds. The road has been extensively landscaped and features huge rusty metal sound barriers with coloured glass panels which look very striking especially when lit at night.
The roadside from Corio to Fyansford features one of the region’s best bike and walking tracks and has already become a family favourite. The path stretches the eastern side of the road and there are plans to extend the path to link the Barwon River in the future.
The much anticipated opening of the second section of Geelong’s ring road was held on June 14th 2009 and was several months earlier than planned. The opening was celebrated with a huge family day which attracted thousands of families wanting to see first-hand the works. The day included a historic Ford display and motorcade, jumping castles, entertainment and a host of VIP’s. But the highlight of the day was the once in a lifetime chance to walk along the road only hours before the first vehicles started running along the freeway.
The ring road is expected to generate a huge influx of investment into the greater Geelong region and really give our magnificent tourist areas a boost. The project has cut a considerable amount of travel time as well as improving safety for visitors from Melbourne and many other places in the state.
The last section of the Geelong Ring Road was opened in February 2013, this section joins the new freeway to Anglesea Road and the Princes Highway. Both these connections are of strategic importance with the Anglesea Road connection providing a direct link to the Great Ocean Road from Melbourne without any traffic lights. This new connection also took the opportunity to remove the Geelong to Warrnambool railway crossing and will also provide access to Torquay via the Baanip Boulevard project to the Surf Coast Highway that is currently under construction.
The connection to the Princes Highway will eventually see a divided road reach all the way to Colac. Currently work is well underway to complete this link as far as Winchelsea in 2016, with planning work on the section from Winchelsea to Colac currently underway.
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