Western Roads Upgrade

Description

The western suburbs of Melbourne are experiencing considerable population growth, resulting in increased demands on the road network. The Western Roads Upgrade project comprises of two phases, the first being an initial capital works program, transforming the arterial road network by boosting capacity, widening roads and upgrading intersections on eight major arterial roads.

At completion of the initial capital works phase in early 2021, the project moved to the second phase of full maintenance of the road network. This includes patching and pavement resurfacing along 260 kms of existing arterial roads within the network, between Footscray and Werribee. Additionally, the Ventia maintenance team is responsible for repairing and maintaining all Vic Roads assets, including urgent road repairs, fixing signage, cleaning of structures (water blasting and graffiti removal) and daily maintenance activities such as mowing and gardening.

Approach

The maintenance phase of this project had just started when Comacon was engaged, and the team worked closely with Ventia’s project team to establish Community and Stakeholder Engagement requirements. Most of the roadworks are conducted at night, therefore the focus was to ensure timely, relevant and comprehensive communications of road and structure activities in order to mitigate the impact on stakeholders. 

The Comacon team initially worked with Major Road Projects Victoria (MRPV), until October 2021, when the project transitioned to full maintenance, managed by the Department of Transport. The existing processes were reviewed by Comacon, Ventia and the Department of Transport, and streamlined to manage the maintenance phase effectively.

Comacon, worked as part of a multi-disciplinary project team, and was responsible for all engagement and communication activities on behalf of Ventia and the Department of Transport. As part of our role within the team, we designed, prepared and delivered communications collateral, emails, training material, photos and website content. 

The Comacon team also supported MRPV’s contact centre, using Consultation Manager and ensuring incoming enquiries were responded to, actioned and closed off in a timely manner

Highlights

Comacon supported Ventia by writing a media release and arranging photography and videography to promote the addition of an electric vehicle to the Ventia truck fleet. A launch was scheduled, but had to be subsequently cancelled due to Covid19 restrictions. Nevertheless, the EV truck media story was later released.

In addition to providing community and stakeholder engagement support, Comacon assisted with ongoing audits, finalising the maintenance contract, and developing stakeholder and community engagement training for customer-facing teams, both in the office managing incoming calls and in the field.

Contact

Jo Williams, Senior Communication and Engagement Consultant

Donna Groves, Managing Director and Principal Consultant

Image by Credit