The Victorian Government in Australia has called for expressions of interest (EOI) for the A$1.8bn ($1.3bn) Outer Suburban Arterial Roads (OSARs) programme in Melbourne’s west.

The investment in road upgrade and maintenance works, by the government, will be useful to local residents and commuters as it will reduce travel times, improve road safety and better connect communities in key growth corridors.

The OSAR programme features upgrades to eight high-priority roads with maintenance works carried out on more than 700km of road stretching from Werribee to Footscray.

"Victoria is breaking new ground with this project, one that stacks up, and will protect our liveability by building a safer and more reliable network."

Premier of Victoria Daniel Andrews said: “This is one of the biggest ever projects to update suburban arterial roads – and it’s going to create jobs, cut travel times and congestion and improve safety.”

“We’re building better roads for Victorian families to get them home safer and sooner to their loved ones.”

The road upgrades will ensure that the commuters benefit from the new roads while the existing network is maintained to a high-standard for years to come.

The package will be used to transform the outer-western road network by enhancing its capacity, as well as improving road pavement conditions with intersection upgrades, almost 30km of lane duplication, and road maintenance.

Treasurer of Victoria Tim Pallas said: “Victoria is breaking new ground with this project, one that stacks up, and will protect our liveability by building a safer and more reliable network.”

The works on eight high-priority roads is expected to complete within the next five years, and the maintenance and rehabilitation contract will continue for a further 20 years.

The Request for Proposal is expected to be issued by next year and the construction works is likely to commence in 2018.