An alliance of Leighton Holdings, VicRoads and AECOM has been selected for a $200m section of the Western Highway Realignment project in the Australian city of Melbourne.

The section will extend south of the existing Western Freeway to connect Harkness Road at Melton West with Bacchus Marsh Road at Bacchus Marsh.

Work includes building a new interchange at Woolpack Road, building local road overpasses linking Bulmans Road and Clarkes Road at Melton West, and an overpass that will extend Hopetoun Park Road across the freeway.

Work also includes building a new bridge spanning the Lerderderg River and other major bridgeworks carrying the freeway over Djerriwarrh Creek, Cowans Road and Pyrites Creek.

The section is being funded by $160m from the Australian Government under the Nation Building Programme, and $38bn from the Victorian state under the Victorian Transport Plan.

Work is expected to begin in early 2010 and finish by early 2012.

Leighton Holding will carry out the work through its subsidiary the John Holland Group.