WestGate Bridge reopens to traffic

Melbourne's Westgate Bridge has reopened to traffic after road crews worked through the night to repair a large crack.

The crack, about five metres in length, appeared on Monday morning on the bitumen surface of a steel section of the bridge.

By Tuesday morning, the bridge was given the all clear and reopened to traffic at normal speed limits.

The crack was in the inbound lanes one and two of the bridge, which were temporarily closed on Monday afternoon for emergency works.

Crews completed a more thorough repair on Monday night, closing three lanes to do the job.

VicRoads believes last week's record heatwave, where temperatures reached more than 41C for four days in a row, caused the damage.

VicRoads acting chief executive Peter Todd said engineers immediately climbed into the bridge and determined the structure was sound and drivers could have confidence in the bridge's structure.