The Government of Australia is set to open the extended CityLink road in Melbourne on 1 April this year, with the widening work on the lane about to finish.

Developed as part of the CityLink Tulla widening project, the new stretch will include around 9km of lanes on CityLink between Flemington road and the Westgate Freeway.

The extended stretch will also provide extra traffic lane on each way, including the Bolte Bridge, to the drivers.

"We’re getting on with the job and opening up 9km of extra lanes that will slash travel times and boost safety for drivers travelling between the airport and the city."

Once completed, the motorists, on an average, will be able to save 16 minutes in the morning peak and 17 minutes in the afternoon peak hours.

Australia Roads and Road Sfety minister Luke Donnellan said: “We’re getting on with the job and opening up 9km of extra lanes that will slash travel times and boost safety for drivers travelling between the airport and the city.

“Construction crews have been working around the clock to get the job done, so we can get Victorians home safer and sooner.”

Upon completion of the upgrade, emergency lanes on CityLink will be replaced by new digital overhead lane use signs, which will provide drivers advanced notice of lane closures or reduced speed limits in the event of an incident ahead.

The digital signage will be supported by CCTV cameras, which will identify accidents or breakdowns requiring CityLink incident response crews or emergency services.

Under the CityLink Tulla widening project, the government will add a total of 24km of stretch from Melbourne Airport to Power Street in Southbank.

Scheduled to be completed by next year, the project has already created 1,400 direct and indirect jobs.