William Hovell Drive should be four lanes all the way by the end of 2028. Photo: ACT Government.
Works to finally turn William Hovell Drive into a complete dual carriageway are expected to start in November after the awarding of the construction tender to Canberra Contractors.
The long-awaited $107.25 million project – jointly funded by the Australian and ACT Governments – is now expected to be completed by the end of 2028.
It will duplicate 4.5 kilometres of the key road from John Gorton Drive to Drake Brockman Drive, including new traffic lights at intersections.
This upgrade is designed to improve safety, reduce congestion, and improve travel times for thousands of daily commuters between West Belconnen and the city.
The project will also include a new 4.5 km, three-metre-wide shared path along William Hovell Drive connecting with the existing shared path at Bindubi Street.
This will provide a safer and easier option to walk, run or cycle, while innovative fauna crossings will support biodiversity between the Kama and Pinnacle nature reserves.
The ‘critter crossings’ will be under the road and on rope bridges above the road, the first of its kind in the ACT
There will also be upgrades to the Bicentennial National Trail underpass, improved access to the Old Weetangera Cemetery and construction of retaining walls to protect sensitive environmental areas.
City and Government Services Minister Tara Cheyne said the signing of this contract was a major milestone for this significant and complex project.
Ms Cheyne said she, like many Belconnen residents, had been eagerly awaiting this day.
“We will be sharing as much information as we can as early as we can so that commuters can plan ahead with their travel during this period of disruption,” she said.
“Ultimately, this is a project that will ease congestion and improve the overall road alignment, enhancing capacity and improving safety.”
The project has a long history, with a tender for detailed design released in 2019.
It was originally expected to cost only $53 million, but that had to be revised when construction costs exploded after the pandemic.
In 2023, then Transport and City Services Minister Chris Steel acknowledged “cost escalation on infrastructure projects” due to the economic effects of COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine.
“The impact on the cost of materials and a range of other effects have been flowing through to infrastructure projects around Australia, and the road projects we’ve got underway are no different,” he said.
“We had business cases prepared several years ago prior to those major market disruptions, and there have been increases in costs.”
The project was expected to be completed by the end of 2026 but the construction tender was not released until October 2024.
Since 2019, the development of the Molonglo Valley, especially the suburb of Whitlam, and Ginninderry in West Belconnen, have increased traffic flow on William Hovell Drive, making it imperative that the road becomes a dual carriageway.
The road has been the scene of several head-on smashes in recent years.
