Problem-plagued toll road opens after decade of delays
A major new toll road aimed at easing congestion in Australia’s second-largest city has finally opened, a decade after the project was first announced.
Victoria’s West Gate Tunnel, an alternative route west of Melbourne, opened to the public on Sunday morning, heralding the long-awaited toll road as a “game changer” for commuters.
The first trucks and cars passed through the 6.8 km stretch just after midnight, bringing the $10.2 billion project to an end.
Premier Jacinta Allan said the three-lane highway in both directions was a “major game changer in the way people travel across this great city and state”.
“This means families will be able to return home sooner, congestion will be reduced and most importantly for those living in the western suburbs, trucks will be taken off local roads,” he told reporters from the site.
Ms Allen defended the Labour-backed project despite a decade of turbulent planning, a doubling of its cost and years of delays.
“Yes, this was a really complex project and it faced some challenges along its journey,” he said.
“It will be worth it for decades to come, because as our city and state grows, this is the type of infrastructure we need to invest in today to support growth in the future.”
The tunnel’s opening comes two weeks after the opening of the Metro Tunnel rail project, the biggest upgrade to Melbourne’s rail system since the City Loop opened four decades ago.
Around 9,000 trucks are expected to be removed from local streets each day, reducing commute times by up to 20 minutes.
The proposal was announced in 2014 with a $5.5 billion price tag and a 2022 completion date.
The project has been the subject of controversy since Daniel Andrews, then of the Labor Opposition, campaigned to build the road ahead of the 2014 election and vowed to cancel the East West Link contract signed by the previous Liberal Napthine government if elected.
But cost blowouts and the discovery of toxic soil brought the total bill to taxpayers to $10.2 billion, and its opening was postponed until late 2025.
The 4km road connects the West Gate Expressway at Yarraville in Melbourne’s inner west to CityLink at the Port of Melbourne and Docklands.
A trip will set drivers back $4.09 for a car, $6.54 for a van or van, more than double that figure if they head west of the CBD during the morning rush hour.
Transurban is paying $6.1 billion of construction costs in exchange for operating fees and a 10-year extension of the CityLink contract.
