Eastern Freeway and CityLink connection
The 2019 Australian Infrastructure Audit identified the east–west corridor to the north of Melbourne’s CBD as one of Melbourne’s major congestion challenges. Vehicles travelling east–west between the Eastern Freeway and CityLink are forced to navigate the congested inner-city road network, or the heavily utilised M1 corridor to the south of the city. This results in congestion and delays on Melbourne’s urban road network for both passenger and freight vehicles. The Audit found that this corridor had the highest road congestion delay cost in Melbourne in 2016, with a delay cost of $91 million. This is expected to worsen by 2031, with the delay cost projected to increase to $131 million (2016 prices).
The Eastern Freeway only extends as far as Hoddle Street on the edge of the CBD, channelling the large volume of vehicles heading into and out of the city onto residential streets in the inner north.
An improved connection between the Eastern Freeway and CityLink would help to address congestion in the area.
The Victorian Government is progressing a number of major transport initiatives in inner and outer Melbourne. For example, construction has commenced on the North East Link and the West Gate Tunnel projects.
In addition to infrastructure projects, Victoria’s infrastructure strategy 2021-2051 also identifies a number of reform items to assist with easing congestion. These include tram route changes, parking and congestion pricing.
A combination of infrastructure, reforms and other potentially transformative proposals such as the Suburban Rail Loop may respond to this problem over time.
We will continue to monitor the impacts of infrastructure projects such as North East Link and the West Gate Tunnel and network reforms to determine if they adequately resolve the identified problem.
Refer to Infrastructure Glossary for terms and definitions.