User:Triptothecottage/sandbox/ewl
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The East West Link is a proposed 18-kilometre tollway in Melbourne, Australia, to connect the Eastern Freeway at Clifton Hill with the Western Ring Road at Sunshine West. The Napthine Coalition Government signed a $5.3 billion contract with the East West Connect consortium in September 2014, just prior to the November 2014 state election, to begin construction on the eastern tunnel segment of the project.[1] It became one of the central issues in the election, and a subsequent change in government led to the project's cancellation at a cost of $1.3 billion.[2] The problem of poor "connectivity between Melbourne's Eastern Freeway and CityLink" has since been included in Infrastructure Australia's list of Australia's 32 "highest priority" infrastructure needs and various solutions remain part of long-term state road planning.[3][4]
East West Link | |
---|---|
General information | |
Type | Freeway (Proposed) |
Length | 18 km (11 mi) |
Major junctions | |
East end | |
CityLink (M2) | |
West end | |
Location(s) | |
Major suburbs / towns | Clifton Hill, Collingwood, Fitzroy North, Carlton, Parkville, Flemington, Kensington, Footscray, Tottenham, Derrimut, Sunshine West |
Highway system | |
The project's $6 billion first stage was planned as a 4.4 km tunnel from Hoddle Street, Clifton Hill to CityLink at Parkville, due for completion by early 2020.[5] Work on the second stage, the western section between Parkville and the Western Ring Road, was expected to commence in late 2015 and be completed by 2023.[6] The project's total cost was estimated at $15 billion to $17 billion.[7]
The road project was proposed in 1999 by then Premier Jeff Kennett, but gained prominence when it became one of the chief recommendations of the 2008 East-West Link Needs Assessment report, which warned that steady growth in port freight and population growth was rapidly taking Melbourne roads to capacity. The report's author, Sir Rod Eddington, said an alternative river crossing was also imperative to lessen the city's dependence on the West Gate Bridge, while an additional east-west link was needed to the city's north because of capacity constraints on the congested Monash-CityLink-West Gate corridor. Eddington said the benefits for the city included relieving congestion on Hoddle Street, reducing east-west rat running through suburban streets, assisting north-south traffic flows including public transport, and improving accessibility to city jobs for western suburbs residents.[8][9]
The proposed freeway standard road was to start at the Western Ring Road at Laverton North, connect with Market Road, Brooklyn, then descend into two separate three-lane tunnels at Kingsville, to link with the Eastern Freeway. On-ramps and off-ramps were expected to be provided near Dynon Road, Footscray for port access, and at its junction with CityLink and the Eastern Freeway.[8][10][11]
The project attracted public criticism over its effectiveness to reduce congestion, prioritisation ahead of public transport, transparency of business case and local effect on Royal Park and Melbourne Zoo. Local councils and public transport advocates opposed the project and several community groups were formed to block its construction.[12]
Then Opposition Leader and now Premier Daniel Andrews campaigned against the project in the 2014 state election, promising to abandon the project if Labor won government. The Labor government says the project's western section may still be built, though not in the government's first term.[13] The government initially proposed its West Gate Distributor as a lower-cost port link for heavy freight vehicles, but in early 2015 unveiled plans by infrastructure company Transurban to build the multibillion-dollar West Gate Tunnel project as a more expansive route, providing a second major river crossing and a partial western bypass in the city's inner west. This alternative project began construction in early 2018 and is expected to be complete in 2022.
The Coalition both in Federal Government and in state Opposition remain committed to building the East West Link. In November 2017, the Coalition Opposition in Victoria, led by Opposition Leader Matthew Guy, pledged to build the former project combined with the proposed North East Link if it won government at the 2018 state election.[14]