RACV Calls For New Thoroughfare to Connect Melbourne’s East and West

It’s calling for a new east-west link from the Eastern Freeway to the Western Ring Road, that would include a tunnel from the Eastern to Citylink and another beneath the Maribyrnong River.

“While you really want to maximise the use of public transport the reality is there are still going to be a lot of trip by cars,” Mr Negus told the Herald Sun.

This is especially true in Melbourne, now, with rampant suburban development meaning a trip from suburbs that aren’t on the same train line, involve heading into the city, only to then head out.

Elsewhere in the inner and middle west, 1000 homes are expected to be developed as part of the Bradmill factory site redevelopment in Yarraville, abutting the West Gate Freeway. The inner-western E-Gate precinct is also earmarked for redevelopment, as is Port Melbourne’s Fisherman’s Bend pocket, south-east of town.

The RACV expects these new developments will put pressure on the West Gate Bridge, the biggest thoroughfare connecting western suburb residents and visitors to the CBD.

By comparison, the northern, western and southern suburbs have several connecting roads to town (ironically, many of which are congested).

Wyndham Mayor said the Regional Rail Link, due for completion  in 2016, should ease transport woes. New train stations are proposed at Manor Lakes and Tarneit, and another four earmarked elsewhere in the area.

The new state Liberal government said before the election it would prioritise roads to suburbs that have faced increased traffic congestion, as a result of poor planning by the previous Labor government, which encouraged high density development outside of the inner-city.

That proposal – Melbourne 2030, later rebranded Melbourne @ 5 Million – was destroyed by the Liberal government when it won the 2010 state election.

 

Link to Lend Lease’s recently announced Werribee proposal:

 

 

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Marc Pallisco

A former property analyst and print journalist, Marc is the publisher of realestatesource.com.au.