completed it was controversial as the road was originally built to a 2-lane standard rather than four; leaving southbound and northbound commuters with lengthy delays each morning and afternoon. Work commenced in October 2009 to widen the 2 lane sections to 4 lanes as originally planned. The area near the south bound lanes leading into the Glenloch interchange was the first area to be widened as this area bears the heaviest traffic load during peak times. The road has now been completed to a 4 lane freeway standard. Protests When the Gungahlin Drive Extension plans were made public, there were protests by various groups in order to stop or delay work on the road. The main protests came from a group called "Save The Ridge". This group were angry about the destruction of the flora and fauna that would occur with the GDE running through the Bruce / O'Connor Ridge. Meanwhile, another group called GDE Now! was formed, with a slogan 'Pave the Ridge'. In 2004 Save The Ridge had a legal victory with the ACT Government in relation to local planning laws. The ACT Government then passed a new law with the purpose of overriding further legal challenges at the local level. In 2005 Save The Ridge took the ACT Government and the National Capital Authority to the Federal Court of Australia in a further effort to have the project shut down. In September 2005 the Federal Court ruled in favour of the NCA and the ACT Government, giving the go-ahead for the project to resume. On 10 December 2006, during Stage 1 of the GDE opening, Save The Ridge again protested against the road, and called for an immediate halt to the rest of the construction taking place. They called the GDE "one of the most expensive non tunnelled single lane roads per kilometre in Australia's history." Bridge collapse On 14 August 2010, the eastern duplication bridge of the GDE, over the Barton Highway, partially collapsed. The new bridge was under construction when it collapsed. ACT Police, ACT Ambulance Service and the ACT Fire Brigade attended the scene and freed one man who was trapped under the rubble. At least 9 people were taken to the Canberra Hospital for treatment and another 5 were injured however there were no critical injuries, all those affected were working on a new span of the bridge. The Barton Highway and northern