Travel Impacts
Find out about road closures, detours, and other disruptions to travel related to infrastructure projects.
For road closures in other areas of the ACT, visit the City Services website.
City construction
The largest transformation in our City Centre’s history is underway. A range of major projects are improving how we move around the city, connect with the lake and activate underused parts of City West.
Canberra is expected to grow to nearly 700,000 people by 2050. The ACT Government is investing now to create a connected, vibrant and sustainable city.
Key projects include:
- Light Rail to Commonwealth Park
- a new lyric theatre at the Canberra Theatre Centre.
View the City construction footprint map.
Light rail to Commonwealth Park
Status: Under construction
Expected completion: 2027
Light Rail Stage 2A is extending the network 1.7 kilometres from Alinga Street to Commonwealth Park. The extension will include three new stops at Edinburgh Avenue, City South and Commonwealth Park.
When complete, light rail will connect Gungahlin and North Canberra to City West, the ANU, New Acton, Commonwealth Park and Lake Burley Griffin.
Visit the Light Rail to Woden website or use the interactive traffic impacts map for more information.
Access during construction
- Access to businesses along London Circuit east and west remains open.
- The city bus and light rail interchange continues to operate.
- Pedestrian and wheelchair access is available along and across London Circuit.
- Cyclists and e-scooter riders should take care and reduce speed.
Current impacts
- London Circuit closures: The western side is closed to regular traffic. Sections of London Circuit east are also closed until 2026 to relocate underground services and complete streetscape upgrades.
- Parkes Way: The left eastbound lane is closed for about 150 metres near Commonwealth Avenue. Speed reduced to 60 km/h.
- Commonwealth Avenue: Median lanes closed in both directions. Speed reduced to 60 km/h. Access to Acton Waterfront, Henry Rolland Park and parking remains open via Albert Street.
Northbourne Avenue
Traffic on Northbourne Avenue is reduced to two lanes in each direction between Alinga Street and Vernon Circle.
From 8pm Friday 19 September to 6am Monday 22 September 2025, northbound lanes between Vernon Circle and Rudd Street will be closed.
Detours will be in place via:
- Commonwealth Avenue and Edinburgh Avenue to Barry Drive
- Commonwealth Avenue to Constitution Avenue
- Kings Avenue and Parkes Way to Cooyong Street
View the detours map.
Further weekend closures will be needed until mid-2026.
These closures will be carried out as construction blitzes, with crews working around the clock from Friday night to Monday morning.
New lyric theatre
Status: Site investigations planned for September 2025.
Learn more and follow construction progress on the project page.
Site investigations — 23 to 26 September 2025 (6am to 5pm)
Investigations will check ground conditions to help plan the new lyric theatre.
Expected impacts
- Low machine noise in the area.
- 23 and 24 September: six parking spaces closed between 6am and 2pm.
- 23 to 26 September:
- digging near the Theatre Lane stairs, with traffic management in place
- digging at the Canberra Theatre loading dock lawn
- digging in the grass area between Theatre Lane car park and Vernon Circle.
Early works from October 2025 (subject to approvals)
Works will prepare the site for construction.
Planned works
- Install hoarding and site sheds.
- Keep The Playhouse operating.
- Remove trees and relocate services.
- Temporary traffic management.
Expected impacts
- Closure of Theatre Lane car park.
- No public access to Theatre Lane behind the Canberra Theatre Centre.
- Intermittent closures of Knowles Place behind CMAG.
- Pedestrian detours and machinery noise.
View the proposed locations of the new lyric theatre and the work site compounds.
Monaro Highway
Northbound lanes of the Monaro Highway at the Lanyon Drive intersection will have temporary traffic lights and lane changes. They will assist the demolition and construction of a new bridge over Dog Trap Creek.
Road users travelling north towards Fyshwick, Symonston, Pialligo, Majura, Canberra city, and other suburbs are advised to plan ahead and expect delays in the morning peak period. These delays may be up to 8 minutes for northbound travel on the Monaro Highway and up to 10 minutes for westbound travel, towards Canberra on Lanyon Drive.
The speed limit will remain at 60km/h during peak travel periods. Outside of peak travel periods, the speed limit may be temporarily reduced to 40km/h. These changed traffic arrangements will only impact northbound traffic.
View the alternate routes map.
Molonglo River Bridge project
Coppins Crossing Road will be closed between Holborow Avenue and Hazel Hawke Avenue to allow for installation of precast deck slabs:
- 9:30 am Friday 26 September to 3:00 pm Monday 29 September (contingency day Tuesday 30 September, off-peak if required).
- 6:00 am Tuesday 7 October to 6:00 pm Sunday 12 October.
View the detour map.
For changes to public transport during this closure, visit the Transport Canberra website.
Athllon Drive duplication
Works are underway on detour footpaths between Drakeford Drive and Sulwood Drive to improve the safety of pedestrians and cyclists when construction of adjacent community path (C4) improvement works begin as part of the enabling works package 2.
View the works map.
Changes to Callam Street traffic arrangements
To allow for the next stage of construction of the new Woden Public Transport Interchange, Callam Street in Woden will be temporarily closed to buses from Thursday, 19 June 2025.
The northern section (Launceston St to Matilda St) will reopen to buses later this year.
The southern section (near Bradley St) will remain closed to all non-construction traffic until the new interchange opens.
Buses are being redirected via Bowes St and Matilda St, to access the temporary interchange operating next to the new CIT Woden Campus.
Bus stop 2031 (Launceston Street after Irvine Street) will be temporarily closed from first service on Thursday, 19 June 2025 until further notice.
Passengers are advised to visit the Transport Canberra website - www.transport.act.gov.au - for further details.
View the indicative traffic map.
Journey planning and support
Getting around the city
Check the interactive traffic impacts map for up-to-date information on road changes in the city centre relating to the construction of light rail and the Raising London Circuit project.
Information about road closures in other areas of the ACT is available on the City Services website.
Signage is also in place around the city to alert approaching drivers about current closures.
Changes to city parking
Find out which carparks are closed or have reduced capacity on the City Services website.
Parkopedia and the Easy Park app provide information on parking options within the city.
Accessible parking
Accessible parking for people with Australian Disability Parking Permits is available within alternate car parks.
Australian disability parking permit holders are also entitled to additional time in ordinary ACT Government time restricted parking spaces.
Find out more about parking permits on the Access Canberra website.
Changes to public transport
Bus services will be impacted by construction activities in and around the city. There are increased journey times and changes in bus service frequency. We have maintained service frequency during peak periods. Rapid buses continue to run at least every 15 minutes.
Find out more about public transport on the Transport Canberra website.
Rethink your routine
If possible, rethink your routine and travel outside peak times. Using public transport, walking, cycling or e-scooting are great ways to build new healthy habits. They will also reduce the amount of fuel you use and carbon emissions, while saving on parking.
Whether you are new to public transport or a seasoned traveller, we have everything you need to get started or back into the groove. This includes public transport, cycling and walking maps for the Canberra regions.
Find out more about travel around your area:
More details on public transport and active travel routes that will connect you to the city can be found at transport.act.gov.au.
You can also plan your journey in real time using a mapping platform such as Google Maps or Apple Maps.
Public transport service alerts
Stay up to date with the latest public transport service alerts.
Road closures
You may be impacted by other road closures. Remember to review your local road and footpath closures.
Disruption Taskforce
To manage impacts during the construction of projects across Canberra’s city centre, the ACT Government has established a multi-agency Disruption Taskforce. The taskforce will oversee the delivery of a comprehensive disruption management strategy. This involves working closely with local community, business and government representatives to develop and implement effective interventions and mitigations.
We are committed to minimising the impact on the community where possible. We are working closely with the Australian Government and private developments to coordinate construction programs, disruption, and communications activities.
The disruption will be significant, but once construction is completed, the city will be more vibrant, sustainable and connected.
Additional traffic lights
Traffic lights have been installed at the roundabout at Coranderrk Street and Parkes Way. These improve traffic flow during the raising of London Circuit and light rail construction by controlling the westbound right turn from Parkes Way into Coranderrk Street.
Temporary traffic lights have been installed on Vernon Circle to allow safe right-turns onto Constitution Avenue and London Circuit for vehicles heading north. A new bus lane is also helping public transport between Edinburgh Avenue and Constitution Avenue.
Improved traffic light monitoring
We've installed intelligent transport monitoring technology in key locations across central Canberra where congestion is likely.
Intersection cameras and Bluetooth sensors feed traffic insights to a central Traffic Operations Centre at Fyshwick.
Three travel time roadside signs have been installed on the Tuggeranong Parkway, Majura Parkway and Belconnen Way.
These devices provide motorists with up-to-date information about journey times and potential impacts.
Path upgrades
We are improving paths to and from the city to make walking and cycling easier. These improvements will focus on upgrading existing paths in the inner north and inner south areas.
Park and Ride
There are 22 Park and Ride locations across the ACT where you can park your car for free and catch public transport. Improved signage has been installed at key Park and Ride locations. Read more about Park and Ride.
E-scooters
The e-scooter hire scheme has rolled out to all town centres. It is helping to connect the community with Rapid bus routes and make it easier to get around for short trips.
Read more about e-scooters.
Workplace travel program
We have developed a workplace travel program for city-based employers and their staff. It provides resources to support new transport habits that will last into the future such as car-pooling, cycling and using public transport. Find out more about the workplace travel program.
School-based travel planning
We are engaging with school communities about construction works which may impact the travel of students, parents and teachers. This includes:
- working with schools that are likely to have their travel routines impacted
- raising awareness of the construction activities
- promoting and supporting other travel choices for students, parents and teachers.
Schools will receive ongoing support to deliver a suite of programs to support active travel and respond to safety concerns. Read more about school-based travel programs.
Business visits and engagement
ACT Government staff have been providing regular project updates to city-based businesses since 2021. Further business visits and key stakeholder liaison will continue as construction continues.
Sign up for project updates.
Pop-ups
Pop-up information stands will be coordinated near major workplaces as significant construction projects continue.
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