Main construction works have begun today on the William Hovell Drive duplication, a major road project designed to ease congestion and improve safety for Canberra’s growing north-west.

From tonight to Saturday, William Hovell Drive between Drake Brockman Drive and John Gorton Drive (both directions) will be closed from 8pm each evening to 6am each morning.

Travel updates, detour maps and construction alerts will be available on the Built for CBR website.

The $107.25 million project, jointly funded by the Australian and ACT governments, will duplicate 4.5 kilometres of road between John Gorton Drive and Drake Brockman Drive.

The upgrade will create two lanes in each direction along the corridor, which more than 20,000 vehicles use each day.

Construction is expected to take three years.

The start of main works follows surveying, dilapidation assessments, and the establishment of a site compound over the last month.

The ACT Government says the project will support housing in Ginninderry, Denman Prospect, Whitlam, and Molonglo. Long-term modelling suggests Belconnen’s population could exceed 185,000 people by 2065, and up to another 79,000 residents living in the Molonglo Valley.

The duplication will complement the $225 million jointly funded Molonglo River Bridge, expected to open to traffic later this year.

The William Hovell Drive project will include a new signalised intersection; a three-metre-wide asphalt shared path for pedestrians and cyclists; improved access to the underpass and Old Weetangera Cemetery; retaining walls; and dedicated wildlife crossings.