West Gate Freeway | |
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West Gate Bridge looking towards Melbourne CBD | |
Coordinates | |
General information | |
Type | Freeway |
Length | 13.7 km (8.5 mi) [1] |
Opened | 1971–1988 |
Route number(s) | M1 (1996–present) |
Former route number |
|
Tourist routes | Tourist Drive 2 (1989–present) (Spotswood–Southbank) |
Major junctions | |
West end | Princes Freeway Laverton North, Melbourne |
| |
East end | CityLink Southbank, Melbourne |
Location(s) | |
LGA(s) | |
Major suburbs / towns | Altona North, Spotswood, Port Melbourne |
Highway system | |
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 (via the Princes Freeway) 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.
It is a fully managed freeway with a complete 'Freeway Management System' that is dynamically linked and adaptive to the entire M1 corridor. This includes the 2008 re-design of a substantial section. Overall, the freeway has between 4-6 lanes in each direction, with a maximum of 12 lanes at one point in its width.
The West Gate Freeway officially begins at the West Gate Interchange in Laverton North, with ramps to and from the Western Ring Road, Princes Freeway and Princes Highway (Geelong Road) and heads east as an eight-lane dual-carriageway, crossing the Yarra River over the West Gate bridge, through Port Melbourne, and then becomes elevated for its remaining length, with access ramps to Melbourne's central business district. Eastward beyond the Kings Way and Power Street exits is the CityLink's Southern Link, connecting onwards through Melbourne's south-eastern suburbs through the Burnley and Domain Tunnels.
Standard travel time on the West Gate Freeway in both directions, is 12 minutes: 5 minutes between the Western Ring Road and Williamstown Road, and 7 minutes between Williamstown Road and Kings Way.
The usual peak period travel time, is between 16–27 minutes; however, in times of extreme congestion or traffic accidents, the travel time can well exceed 40 minutes.
The Country Roads Board (later VicRoads) was authorised by the government in December 1961 for a study to gather engineering and economic data for the provisioning of a toll crossing of the Lower Yarra River, from Salmon Street in Port Melbourne to the Princes Highway in the vicinity of Kororoit Creek, a distance of 5.25 miles. [2] Investigations included details of bores down to 8,000 feet and soil tests (completed on 29 June 1962), selective drilling and sampling in critical areas, and traffic studies, and at the time both a tunnel under and a bridge over the river were mooted. [2] In February 1966, the Board was appointed as the design and construction authority for the Lower Yarra Crossing Project; the State government authorised the construction of a tolled bridge over the Yarra with eight lanes. [3]
Construction began on the first section of the Lower Yarra Freeway [4] in the late 1960s and was open to traffic by 1971, [4] stretching from the Princes Highway just south of the intersection with Little Boundary Road in Laverton North (later enlarged and named the West Gate Interchange) eastwards to Melbourne/Williamstown Roads just west of the mouth of the Yarra. At the time, the only way to cross the Yarra west of the CBD was via a ferry crossing (the Yarra River punt service), which naturally saw far heavier demands once the Lower Yarra Freeway was officially opened.
The West Gate Bridge across the Yarra had started construction not too long before the opening of the freeway and, although delayed, when finally completed in 1978 [5] allowed the freeway to extend over the river and directly into the CBD's south-western corner (via Rogers and Lorimer Streets). The freeway's name was changed to the West Gate Freeway to commemorate its opening, but the freeway also attracted tolls from anyone using the bridge (between Melbourne/Williamstown Road and Rogers Street) between 16 November 1978 and 17 November 1985. [6] The toll plaza was located on the city side of the bridge where the service stations are now located. [7] National Route 1 – previously designated along Geelong Road (Princes Highway West) and through the CBD via Smithfield and Flemington Roads and King Street – was altered to use the freeway instead and rejoin Kings Way via Rogers, Lorimer and Clarendon Streets. As a result of the diverted traffic over the West Gate Bridge, the Yarra River punt service closed in 1979.
Due to the extra traffic the West Gate Freeway was attracting—and due to the safety concerns of having excess traffic filter through connector streets in South Melbourne—the freeway was first extended to Johnson Street (today Montague Street) in 1985, [6] and then finally to Kings Way above the Grant Street intersection using elevated carriageways; the eastbound carriageway opened in 1987, [8] and the westbound carriageway opened nearly a year later in 1988. [8] Expansion of the original two lane freeway on the western side of the bridge to three lanes each way was carried out in 1991, [9] and expansion to four lanes followed in 2000. [10] With the subsequent completion of the Western Ring Road joining the West Gate Interchange to the freeway's west and CityLink to the freeway's east, it also funnels traffic from northern and western suburbs around Melbourne, acting as a bypass freeway.
The Lower Yarra Freeway was signed Freeway Route 82 upon opening in 1971, joined by National Route 1 when the West Gate Bridge opened in 1978, and both were extended onto new sections of the West Gate Freeway as they opened during the 1980s; Freeway Route 82 was eventually removed in 1988. Tourist Route 2 also runs along the freeway from the Melbourne/Williamstown Road interchange in Spotswood and the Montague Street interchange in Port Melbourne. With Victoria's conversion to the newer alphanumeric system in the late 1990s, the freeway's National Route 1 designation began conversion to M1 in late 1996, and was completed in 1997. [11]
The passing of the Road Management Act 2004 [12] granted the responsibility of overall management and development of Victoria's major arterial roads to VicRoads: in 2007, VicRoads re-declared this road as West Gate Freeway (Freeway #1820), from the Princes Freeway at Laverton North and ending at the ramps to Kings Way and Power Street in Southbank. [13]
The original Lower Yarra Freeway was officially designated in the 1969 Melbourne Transportation Plan as the F9 Freeway corridor.
Traffic volumes on the West Gate Freeway have grown steadily since opening, carrying up to 180,000 vehicles every day. Congestion frequently occurs at the Montague Street and Bolte Bridge interchanges due to conflicting traffic movements on and off the freeway. On 1 May 2008 the Minister for Roads and Ports Tim Pallas announced design details for the West Gate Freeway improvements, to assist in maintaining rapidly growing volume capacity and to reduce congestion. [14]
They are:
These works help reduce merging and weaving movements at key points on the freeway, leading to a smoother traffic flow and improved driver safety. As part of the works the Montague Street on-ramp city bound had been closed for approximately 18 months to enable the new one to be built. [15]
Early works on the West Gate Freeway, including geo-technical investigations and service proving, commenced in late 2007. In early 2008 construction works started on the freeway widening, specifically in the South Melbourne area. New traffic lanes and ramps have been completed and opened in different stages with the total project eventually completed and opened to traffic in June 2011. [16] The project was awarded the 2011 Australian Construction Achievement Award. [17]
LGA | Location [1] [13] | km [1] | mi | Exit [18] | Destinations | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Melbourne | Southbank | 0.0 | 0.0 | CityLink (M1) – Kooyong, Chadstone, Narre Warren, Pakenham | Eastern terminus of freeway, continues as Southern Link through Domain Tunnel (westbound) and Burnley Tunnel (eastbound) | |
W1 | Power Street – Southbank | Westbound and eastbound exit only | ||||
0.3 | 0.19 | W2 | Kings Way (Alt National Route 1) – St Kilda, Caulfield, Dandenong | Eastbound exit to and westbound entrance from the south only | ||
1.6 | 0.99 | W3 | Montague Street (Metro Routes 30/55/Tourist Route 2 north) – Docklands Montague Street (Metro Route 30 south) – South Melbourne | Eastern terminus of concurrency with Tourist Drive 2 | ||
Port Melbourne | 3.1 | 1.9 | W4 | CityLink (M2) – Tullamarine, Melbourne Airport | Trumpet interchange with local-express lanes; westbound exit on local lanes | |
4.4 | 2.7 | W5 | Todd Road/Cook Street – Fishermans Bend | Westbound exit part of local lanes containing exit W4 | ||
Yarra River | 4.9– 7.4 | 3.0– 4.6 | West Gate Bridge | |||
Hobsons Bay | Spotswood | 8 | 5.0 | Hyde Street (Metro Route 35/Tourist Route 2) – Footscray, Spotswood | Eastbound exit only, westbound entrance via Simcock Avenue, under construction as part of West Gate Tunnel project Toll point upon tunnel opening | |
W6 | Williamstown Road (Metro Route 37/Tourist Route 2 north) – Footscray Melbourne Road (Metro Route 37 south) – Williamstown, Scienceworks Museum | Western terminus of concurrency with Tourist Drive 2 | ||||
West Gate Tunnel – Port of Melbourne, City | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance only, under construction as part of West Gate Tunnel project | |||||
Altona North | 10.8 | 6.7 | W7 | Millers Road (Metro Route 41) – Brooklyn, Seaholme | ||
12.5 | 7.8 | W8 | Grieve Parade (Metro Route 39) – Brooklyn, Altona | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance only | ||
Laverton North | 13.3 | 8.3 | W9 | Geelong Road (Princes Highway) (Metro Route 83) – Brooklyn, Footscray | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance only | |
13.7 | 8.5 | W10 | Western Ring Road (M80/Tourist Route 21) – Ardeer, Fawkner, Greensborough, Melbourne Airport | |||
Princes Freeway (M1/Tourist Route 21) – Werribee, Geelong, Avalon Airport | Western terminus of freeway; continues southwest as Princes Freeway | |||||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
|
When West Gate Tunnel opens to traffic in 2025, heavy commercial vehicles will be tolled on the section of the West Gate Freeway between Millers Road and Hyde Street. These tolls also automatically cover the use of West Gate Tunnel and its connector roads to the city, or the new Hyde Street on and off-road ramps, without incurring additional tolls. [19] The freeway tolls will still be charged to heavy vehicles not using tunnel or Hyde Street ramps, such as entering or exiting at Williamstown Road or using the West Gate Bridge.
Other vehicles will not be tolled on the West Gate Freeway unless accessing the West Gate Tunnel or Hyde Street ramps. [19]
Toll road | Toll section or toll points | Maximum toll price per trip | Toll increase | Toll concessionaire | Expiry of toll concession | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cars | Motorcycles | Light Commercial Vehicles | Heavy Commercial Vehicles | |||||
From West Gate Tunnel opening (expected 2025) | ||||||||
West Gate Freeway [19] | Between Millers Road and Williamstown Road | No toll | Rigid and articulated trucks and buses: $18.39 [lower-alpha 1] High Productivity Freight Vehicles: $27.59 [lower-alpha 2] | Transurban | 13 January 2045 [20] | |||
Hyde Street ramps | $3.80 | $1.90 | $6.08 | Covered by West Gate Freeway toll charges | ||||
West Gate Tunnel [19] | Within tunnel | $3.80 | $1.90 | $6.08 | ||||
City (Footscray Road, Dynon Road & Wurundjeri Way) [lower-alpha 3] | $6.08 | $3.04 | $9.74 | |||||
Princes Highway is a major road in Australia, extending from Sydney via Melbourne to Adelaide through the states of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. It has a length of 1,941 kilometres (1,206 mi) or 1,898 kilometres (1,179 mi) via the former alignments of the highway, although these routes are slower and connections to the bypassed sections of the original route are poor in many cases.
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.
The West Gate Bridge is a steel, box girder, cable-stayed bridge in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, spanning the Yarra River just north of its mouth into Port Phillip. It carries the West Gate Freeway and is a vital link between the Melbourne central business district (CBD) and western suburbs, with the industrial suburbs in the west, and with the city of Geelong 80 kilometres (50 mi) to the south-west. It is part of one of the busiest road corridors in Australia. The high span bridge was built to allow large cargo ships to access the docks in the Yarra River.
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.
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.
South Gippsland Freeway is a short freeway linking Dandenong in Melbourne's south–east to other south–eastern destinations, including the Mornington Peninsula and the Gippsland region. The freeway bears the designation M420.
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.
Calder Highway is a rural highway in Australia, linking Mildura and the Victoria/New South Wales border to Bendigo, in North Central Victoria. South of Bendigo, where the former highway has been upgraded to freeway-standard, Calder Freeway links to Melbourne, subsuming former alignments of Calder Highway; the Victorian Government completed the conversion to freeway standard from Melbourne to Bendigo on 20 April 2009.
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.
The Mornington Peninsula Freeway is a freeway in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, that provides a link from south-eastern suburban Melbourne to the Mornington Peninsula. Whilst the entire freeway from Dingley Village to Rosebud is declared by VicRoads as the Mornington Peninsula Freeway, the section between EastLink in Carrum Downs and Moorooduc Highway in Moorooduc is locally and commonly known as Peninsula Link. The entire freeway corridor bears the designation M11.
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Greensborough Highway is a highway in the north-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, and is an important route for north-east Melbourne. This name is not widely known to most drivers, as the entire allocation is still best known as by the names of its constituent parts: Lower Heidelberg Road, Rosanna Road, Lower Plenty Road, Greensborough Road and Greensborough Bypass. This article will deal with the entire length of the corridor for sake of completion, as well to avoid confusion between declarations.
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Docklands Highway is an urban highway stretching 12 kilometres from Brooklyn in Melbourne's inner western suburbs to the Docklands precinct, adjacent to the city. This name covers many consecutive streets and is not widely known to most drivers, as the entire allocation is still best known as by the names of its constituent parts: Francis Street, Whitehall Street, Moreland Street, Napier Street, Footscray Road, Dudley Street and Wurundjeri Way. This article will deal with the entire length of the corridor for sake of completion, as well to avoid confusion between declarations.
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 Charles Grimes Bridge is a dual-carriageway bridge that carries the Docklands Highway over the Yarra River in the Docklands precinct of Melbourne, Australia. It was named after New South Wales surveyor general Charles Grimes, who was the first European to see the Yarra River.
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