And as we head into the New Year, looming transport works will also be causing disruptions on the Tullamarine Freeway, Hoddle Street and Flinders Lane. So if you want to avoid the incessant cries of "Are we there yet?" from the back seat this summer, here are where the upgrades are happening and how you can avoid them. West Gate Bridge Works are underway on West Gate Bridge until Saturday.

Three citybound lanes are currently closed, leaving just two lines of traffic flowing. As of 12.30pm, the squeeze had led to delays of 20 minutes. The speed limit through the area has also been reduced to 40 km/h. VicRoads advises anyone headed into the city to take Geelong Road onto Footscray Road and then feed into the city through to Wurundjeri Way. Monash Freeway Two outbound lanes are closed between EastLink and the South Gippsland Freeway, a distance of about seven kilometres.

Those lanes will be closed until December 30, so in the meantime VicRoads is suggesting you take the Princes Highway or the Dandenong bypass instead. Anyone looking to escape the city for the day via the Monash should expect 10-minute delays through the affected area. A number of entry and exit ramps along the Monash are also closed at the moment: The inbound entry ramp on Wellington Road and the outbound exit ramp will be closed every night until January 11.

The southbound EastLink ramp that merges to the Monash inbound will also be closed nightly until Friday.

The South Gippsland Freeway inbound exit ramp will be closed every night until January 30.

The outbound off ramp that links up with the South Gippsland Freeway will also be closed on Thursday, so motorists will have to loop back via Belgrave-Hallam Road to reconnect to the freeway.

VicRoads reports there are also restrictions on the entry and exit ramps from Stud Road and Heatherton Road. Peak-hour traffic on the Monash freeway. Credit:Justin McManus The Tullamarine Freeway

Road widening works on the Tullamarine Freeway have taken a break over the Christmas and New Year period, but there will be nightly closures of some sections of the freeway starting on January 3. Between January 3 and January 6, the road towards the city will be closed between the M80 Ring Road and the Calder Freeway. Between January 7 and January 10, lanes towards the airport will be closed between Melrose Drive and the M80 Ring Road. Finally, between January 11 and January 14, a short section of the freeway will be closed at Mickleham Road, so traffic will be diverted onto the Mickleham off ramp and then back onto the on ramp to rejoin the freeway. VicRoads says the full works schedule will be released before the New Year.

Hoddle Street Between January 7 and January 14, Hoddle Street will be closed to traffic between the Eastern Freeway and Victoria Parade. It will not be possible to get onto the Eastern Freeway from Hoddle Street during the time, and likewise cars will not be able to exit the Eastern Freeway at Hoddle Street. However, cars will still be able to travel along the roads that intersect Hoddle Street. Johnston Street, Gipps Street and Langridge Street will remain open. Hoddle Street will close for two weeks in January 2018. Credit:Joe Armao

Level crossing removals Level crossing works this January will mostly be affecting train services on a few key lines, with buses set to replace trains at certain times on the Frankston, Cranbourne/Pakenham and Hurstbridge lines. But there is one road that will be closed to traffic while the train crossings are replaced. Grange Road in Caulfield, between Moodie Street and Dandenong Road, will be closed between January 3 and January 10. (Correction: an earlier version of this article stated that Grange Road in Alphington, between Darling Street and Heidelberg Road, would be closed between January 6 and January 13. The works will not be taking place at that time and the road will be open during those dates). Flinders Lane

The underground car park at City Square is being demolished to make way for the new Town Hall station, which will be one of the stops on the Metro Tunnel. Flinders Lane will be closed between Russell Street and Swanston Street during the day between January 10 and January 14. Passersby watch as the City Square site is excavated to make way for the underground Town Hall Station. Credit:Justin McManus Why are the closures happening now? During this lazy week of the Christmas and New Year period, VicRoads says traffic volumes are down 40 per cent on the normal figures. That makes it a good time for upgrades and maintenance work to be carried out.

Unsurprisingly, the biggest drop in traffic is at school drop-off times, around 8.30am to 9am. There is also a decrease around school pick-up times, but not as drastic.