West Gate Distributor

Last updated

Stony Creek in Yarraville, which would be crossed by a new West Gate Bridge off-ramp as part of the proposed West Gate Distributor. Westgatemain.jpg
Stony Creek in Yarraville, which would be crossed by a new West Gate Bridge off-ramp as part of the proposed West Gate Distributor.

The West Gate Distributor was a proposed toll road in Melbourne, Australia, to provide access between the West Gate Freeway and the Port of Melbourne, primarily for heavy freight vehicles. The project was eventually scrapped in favour of a similar project known as the Western Distributor (now known as the West Gate Tunnel, which is currently under construction).

Contents

The project, estimated to cost $680 million, [1] was promised in 2013 by the then Victorian Labor Opposition to allow an estimated 5000 trucks a day to bypass the congested West Gate Bridge. The project was Labor's alternative to the Napthine government's controversial $18 billion East West Link, which it cancelled in April 2015. Labor promised to have contracts for the West Gate Distributor project signed within six months of forming government following the 2014 state election, and said the road would be completed by 2018. [2]

The project would have involved the construction of new lanes on a section of the West Gate Freeway and on-ramps and off-ramps connecting to a new elevated road along Hyde Street, Yarraville. The route was to continue along a widened Whitehall Street and Moreland Street towards Footscray Road, from which trucks could enter the port precinct. [3]

The government awarded a contract in December 2015 for the first stage of the project, which was for road widening, signalling and bridge works, and that work was completed in mid-2017. [4] Plans for further work on the project were abandoned when the government opted in April 2017 to instead proceed with a rival project, the $5.5 billion West Gate Tunnel, [5] which was an unsolicited proposal by infrastructure company Transurban revealed in March 2015. [6]

Background

Plans for the West Gate Distributor project were announced on 19 November 2013 as part of the Labor Party's Project 10,000 transport plan, which promised a range of major road and rail improvements that would provide a transport alternative to the Coalition government's East West Link toll road. Labor said the projects would create a total of 10,000 construction jobs in Victoria. [7]

An artist's representation of the road contained in the Project 10,000 public document showed a two-lane off-ramp for eastbound freeway traffic, located east of the Westgate golf course and Williamstown railway line. The off-ramp continued as an elevated two-lane road that crosses Stony Creek and swept northwards to merge with Hyde Street, south of Francis Street. A parallel two-lane road was to allow southbound vehicles on Hyde Street to exit, then cross Stony Creek, pass under the West Gate Freeway and merge with westbound freeway traffic. [8] Lanes were also to be added in each direction on the West Gate Freeway between Williamstown Road and the Western Ring Road. [9]

Labor's plan was based on a proposal in Sir Rod Eddington's 2008 East-West Link Needs Assessment report, [10] which had recommended the implementation of a Truck Action Plan that would include a new link from the West Gate Freeway to the port via Hyde Street in a bid to reduce truck movements on Francis Street and Somerville Road. The Truck Action Plan was a supplement to a new 18 km east–west cross-city road link. [11] The Eddington study had found that total daily truck movements to and from the Port of Melbourne could more than double from 9000 to 23,000 by 2035. [12]

The announcement of the West Gate Distributor project marked a switch in strategy by Labor leader Daniel Andrews, who in October 2012 had spoken in favour of a second major river crossing in Melbourne's inner western suburbs to provide a road alternative to the West Gate Bridge. Andrews had criticised the Government's staging of the East West Link—announced a month earlier—and urged that the western part of the project should proceed first. [13] [14] From mid-2013 Andrews began opposing construction of the entire East West Link. [15]

Planning and construction

Heavy vehicles at the southern end of Whitehall Street, which would form part of the West Gate Distributor route to the Port of Melbourne. The West Gate Bridge is in the background. Westgate whitehall.jpg
Heavy vehicles at the southern end of Whitehall Street, which would form part of the West Gate Distributor route to the Port of Melbourne. The West Gate Bridge is in the background.

While still in opposition, Andrews announced in September 2014 that the project was "shovel ready" [16] [17] and "ready to go" and that if elected, a Labor government would release the expressions of interest for the project by Australia Day 2015. [2] In January the government called for expressions of interest in stage one, the northern section. [18] That work would involve widening of Moreland Street to provide a four-lane divided road, new traffic signals at Moreland Street's intersection with Footscray Road, Parker Street and Whitehall Street, and the widening and strengthening of Shepherd's Bridge over the Maribyrnong River. A new cycle and pedestrian bridge would also be built alongside Shepherd's Bridge. A contract for stage one was awarded to Fulton Hogan in December 2015; construction was expected to begin in April 2016 and be complete by mid-2017. [4]

Roads Minister Luke Donnellan said some properties would be affected by construction, but said the number of acquisitions would not be revealed until the "preferred alignment" was finalised. Earlier planning for the Brumby government's 2008 Victorian Transport Plan, which had incorporated Eddington's Truck Action Plan, had suggested that up to 21 homes and 22 business properties would need to be acquired for road widening. [19]

Criticism

The Victorian Coalition government disputed Labor's claim that the West Gate Distributor would remove 5000 trucks a day from the West Gate Bridge, citing traffic modelling that showed about 4130 trucks a day travelled to the port's Swanson-Dynon precinct from the west, and that only 30 percent of them—about 1240 trucks—approached by the West Gate Freeway. [10] Western suburbs advocacy group LeadWest has claimed the bypass could backfire, pushing more trucks on to residential streets in Yarraville and Footscray. A spokesman said LeadWest was concerned that westbound drivers exiting the port bound for Brooklyn, Laverton North and Truganina would continue to use inner suburban streets to avoid the gradient on a truck ramp from Hyde Street to the West Gate Freeway. He said drivers would save on fuel and toll expenses by continuing to use suburban streets. [3]

The RACV has criticised the lack of detail in the government's announcements on the project, expressing concern over the potential for traffic confusion resulting from a "spaghetti junction" of ramps between Williamstown Road and the West Gate Bridge. RACV policy manager Brian Negus said the motoring lobby group was waiting to see the detail "because thus far, we've only seen a couple of pages from Labor prior to the election and that doesn't give us good detail". [16] [20] [21]

The Herald Sun has reported that documents prepared by unnamed "environmental agencies" show the construction area is contaminated by dangerous materials including demolition waste that would require cleaning up and delay the project. It said plans to fast-track the work could also be jeopardised because large areas near the bridge and Stony Creek had been classified as areas of cultural heritage sensitivity. The area was reported to have once been used as a food and water source by the Boonwurrung people. [17]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CityLink</span> Tollway network in Melbourne, Australia

CityLink is a network of tollways in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, linking the Tullamarine, West Gate and Monash Freeways and incorporating Bolte Bridge, Burnley Tunnel and other works. In 1996, Transurban was awarded the contract to augment two existing freeways and construct two new toll roads – labelled the Western and Southern Links – directly linking a number of existing freeways to provide a continuous, high-capacity road route to, and around, the central business district. CityLink uses a free-flow tolling electronic toll collection system, called e-TAG. CityLink is currently maintained by Lendlease Services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roads in Victoria</span> Road network in Victoria, Australia

Victoria has the highest density of roads of any state in Australia. Unlike Australia's other mainland states, which have vast areas with virtually no residents, Victoria has population centres spread out over most of the state, with only the far north-west and the Victorian Alps without significant settlements. Population centres are linked by high quality highways and freeways. The state capital, Melbourne, has the most extensive freeway network of any city in Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Gate Freeway</span> Freeway in Melbourne, Australia

The West Gate Freeway is a major freeway in Melbourne, the busiest urban freeway and the busiest road in Australia, carrying upwards of 200,000 vehicles per day. It links Geelong and Melbourne's western suburbs to central Melbourne and beyond. It is also a link between Melbourne and the west and linking industrial and residential areas west of the Yarra River with the city and port areas. The West Gate Bridge is a part of the freeway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tullamarine Freeway</span>

The Tullamarine Freeway, is a major urban freeway in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, linking Melbourne Airport to the Melbourne City Centre. It carries up to 210,000 vehicles per day and is one of Australia's busiest freeways. The entire stretch of the Tullamarine Freeway bears the designation M2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monash Freeway</span> Freeway in Victoria, Australia

The Monash Freeway is a major urban freeway in Victoria, Australia, linking Melbourne's CBD to its south-eastern suburbs and beyond to the Gippsland region. It carries up to 180,000 vehicles per day and is one of Australia's busiest freeways. The entire stretch of the Monash Freeway bears the designation M1.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern Freeway (Melbourne)</span>

The Eastern Freeway is an urban freeway in eastern Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. It is one of the most important freeways in terms of commuting to the city, connecting Alexandra Parade and Hoddle Street in the inner suburbs, with EastLink tollway farther east. It consists of between three and six lanes in each direction, also an inbound transit lane reserved for vehicles with two or more occupants during peak hours.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Princes Freeway</span> Freeway in Victoria, Australia

Princes Freeway is a 159-kilometre (99 mi) Australian freeway, divided into two sections, both located in Victoria, Australia. The freeway links Melbourne to Geelong in the west, and to Morwell in the east. It continues beyond these extremities as the Princes Highway towards Adelaide to the west and Sydney to the northeast. The freeway bears the designation M1.

King's Highway 410, also known as Highway 410 and colloquially as the four-ten, is a 400-series highway in the Canadian province of Ontario that connects Highways 401 and 403 to Brampton. North of Brampton, the commuter freeway ends and the route becomes Highway 10, which continues north through Caledon as a four-lane undivided highway. The route is patrolled by the Ontario Provincial Police and has a speed limit of 100 km/h (62 mph).

The Kwinana Freeway is a 72-kilometre (45 mi) freeway in and beyond the southern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, linking central Perth with Mandurah to the south. It is the central section of State Route 2, which continues north as Mitchell Freeway to Clarkson, and south as Forrest Highway towards Bunbury. A 4-kilometre (2.5 mi) section between Canning and Leach highways is also part of National Route 1. Along its route are interchanges with several major roads, including Roe Highway and Mandjoogoordap Drive. The northern terminus of the Kwinana Freeway is at the Narrows Bridge, which crosses the Swan River, and the southern terminus is at Pinjarra Road, east of Mandurah.

The Mitchell Freeway is a 41.5-kilometre-long (25.8 mi) freeway in the northern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, linking central Perth with the city of Joondalup. It is the northern section of State Route 2, which continues south as Kwinana Freeway and Forrest Highway. Along its length are interchanges with several major roads, including the Graham Farmer Freeway and Reid Highway. The southern terminus of the Mitchell Freeway is at the Narrows Bridge, which crosses the Swan River, and the northern terminus is at Romeo Road in Alkimos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M4 Motorway (Sydney)</span> Motorway in Sydney

The M4 Motorway is a 55-kilometre (34 mi) series of partially tolled dual carriageway motorways in Sydney designated as route M4. The M4 designation is part of the wider A4 and M4 route designation, the M4 runs parallel and/or below ground to Great Western Highway, Parramatta Road and City West Link, which are part of route A44.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 95 in Pennsylvania</span> Section of Interstate Highway in United States

Interstate 95 (I-95) is a major north–south Interstate Highway that runs along the East Coast of the United States from Miami, Florida, north to the Canada–United States border at Houlton, Maine. In the state of Pennsylvania, it runs 51.00 miles (82.08 km) from the Delaware state line near Marcus Hook in Delaware County in the southeastern part of the state northeast to the Delaware River–Turnpike Toll Bridge at the New Jersey state line near Bristol in Bucks County, closely paralleling the New Jersey state line for its entire length through Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Distributor (Sydney)</span> Motorway in New South Wales, Australia

Western Distributor is a 4.3-kilometre-long (2.7 mi) grade-separated motorway that is primarily elevated for the majority of its route on the western fringe of the Sydney central business district. It links the southern end of Bradfield Highway at the Sydney Harbour Bridge to Victoria Road in Rozelle, at its western terminus near White Bay. It is a constituent part of the A4 route.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chandler Highway</span> Highway in Melbourne, Australia

Chandler Highway is a short road in the inner eastern suburbs of Melbourne, connecting Alphington over the Yarra River and Eastern Freeway to Kew. Its total length is less than 2 kilometres, leading to the claim that it is "the shortest highway in the world". It was named after a prominent local businessman and politician A. E. Chandler, who was instrumental in pushing through the development of the Outer Circle railway.

Yarra Bank Highway is a short urban highway in central Melbourne, Australia. It runs parallel to the Yarra River and provides an important alternate route to CityLink's Domain and Burnley Tunnels, used by trucks carrying hazardous loads prohibited from the tunnels, and provides another route when the tunnels are closed for maintenance. Prior to the construction of CityLink, the highway provided the main link between the Monash Freeway and the West Gate Freeway. It is known along its route as Power Street, City Road, Alexandra Avenue and Olympic Boulevard.

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. 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 $1.1 billion. 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 remains part of long-term state road planning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North East Link</span> Tollway under construction in Melbourne

The North East Link is an under construction 10–kilometre tolled highway scheme in Melbourne, Australia. It will connect the Metropolitan Ring Road at Greensborough with the Eastern Freeway at Bulleen, which will be upgraded from Hoddle Street to Springvale Road at Nunawading.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M80 Ring Road</span> Freeway in Melbourne, Australia

The M80 Ring Road is a partially complete urban freeway ring road around Melbourne, Australia. This article will deal with the entire length of the corridor for sake of completion, as well to avoid confusion between declarations.

The West Gate Tunnel, formerly known as the Western Distributor, is a four kilometre toll road currently under construction in Melbourne, Australia, to link the West Gate Freeway at Yarraville with the Port of Melbourne and CityLink at Docklands via twin tunnels beneath Yarraville, as well as a bridge and elevated road section.

References

  1. ↑ Whinnett, Ellen (29 January 2015). "Dan's $180m hole". Herald Sun. Melbourne. pp. 1, 6.
  2. 1 2 "Labor to fast track work on West Gate Distributor" (Press release). ALP Victoria. 15 September 2014. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  3. 1 2 Carey, Adam (18 September 2014). "Fears Labor truck plan could backfire in inner west". The Age. Melbourne. pp. 8–9. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  4. 1 2 Vicroads project website on West Gate Distributor.
  5. ↑ Donnellan, Luke (2 April 2017). "Win For The West – New Tunnel To Deliver 24/7 Truck Bans" (Press release). Melbourne: Victorian state government. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  6. ↑ Lucas, Clay (30 June 2015). "$5.5b freeway or truck ramps: decision by December". The Age . Melbourne. p. 8.
  7. ↑ Victorian-Labors-Project-10000.pdf at the Wayback Machine (archived 26 January 2014)
  8. ↑ "Project 10,000" (PDF). ALP Victoria. 19 November 2013. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  9. ↑ Johnston, Matt; Ainsowrth, Michelle (19 November 2014). "Labor leader's plan to get us all moving". Herald Sun. Melbourne. p. 10.
  10. 1 2 Tomazin, Farrah (21 September 2014). "Challenge to Labor's West Gate plan". The Age. Melbourne. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  11. ↑ Investing in Transport: East West Link Needs Assessment, a study by Sir Rod Eddington, March 2008, Introduction, page 14; chapter 9, pg 220.
  12. ↑ Investing in Transport: East West Link Needs Assessment, a study by Sir Rod Eddington, March 2008, chapter 6, pg 160, 162.
  13. ↑ Tomazin, Farrah (1 June 2014). "Labor split on East West Link road plan". The Age. Melbourne. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  14. ↑ Andrews, Daniel (16 October 2012), Melbourne Press Club address, ALP Victoria
  15. ↑ "Napthine's $billion tunnel a dud with no mandate" (Press release). Daniel Andrews, Leader of the Opposition. 31 July 2013.
  16. 1 2 Ainsworth, Michelle; White, Alex (26 December 2014). "West Gate Distributor: Daniel Andrews' new highway could worsen gridlock". Herald Sun. Melbourne.
  17. 1 2 Smethurst, Annika (31 October 2014). "Blow for Labor West Gate off-ramp plan". Herald Sun . Melbourne: News Corp Australia. p. 24.
  18. ↑ Dowling, Jason (22 January 2015). "Bridge project takes trucks away, will homes go too?". The Age. Melbourne. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  19. ↑ Tomazin, Farrah (25 January 2015). "Homes may go in Labor road plan". The Sunday Age. Melbourne. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  20. ↑ White, Alex (26 December 2014). "Fears for West Gate Distributor plan". Herald Sun. Melbourne.
  21. ↑ Cram, Matt (26 December 2014), Labor's West Gate Distributor project comes under fire, 3AW, retrieved 17 January 2015
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.