You don’t have to tell commuters that the West Gate needs work.

You don’t have to tell commuters that the West Gate needs work. Drivers have been saying it for years.

Today, as part of the CityLink Tulla Widening Project, work started to open the bottleneck between the Bolte and the Burnley tunnel.

Now, I'm not going to mince words: you can’t avoid traffic disruptions when it comes to big projects like this.

Inbound, there will be delays on the West Gate and the Bolte over the next 18 months, and they'll add up to 15 minutes to your journey.

Outbound, there won't be any disruptions to traffic.

I'd like to personally thank you for bearing with us on this. We know it's an inconvenience, and we don't take your patience for granted.

But know that these are disruptions for a purpose. When this is done, you'll see less congestion on the West Gate and the Bolte.

And I know that's worth it.