Construction on Victoria’s North East Link – the State’s largest transport project – is being fast tracked, with the procurement process to begin soon. Approximately $110 million has also been allocated from the Victorian Budget 2018/19 to help fast track the detailed planning and design for this massive project.
This $16.5 billion transport project will remove thousands of trucks off local roads, slashing congestion across Melbourne’s north east region. The North East Link is also expected to support over 10,000 new jobs throughout the construction phase.
The North East Link project will include:
- Expansion and upgrade of the Eastern Freeway between Springvale Road in Donvale and Bulleen Road in Bulleen, with up to six new dedicated lanes.
- Express lanes at major interchanges that will reduce merging and weaving that can possibly cause traffic congestion
- Three-lane twin tunnels – Victoria’s longest tunnel – that will span 5 kilometres beneath Bulleen Road as well as residential and sensitive environmental areas including Bolin Bolin Billabong, Banyule Flats and the Yarra River
- New interchanges at Bulleen Road, Manningham Road, Lower Plenty Road, Grimshaw Street and the M80 Ring Road with local, toll-free connections
Once this project is completed, travel times between Melbourne’s north and south will be cut by approximately 30 minutes in each direction and it will also save time for people travelling to Melbourne Airport from the south and east.
Community consultation and planning studies for this massive project is well underway and the full reference design is expected to be released later this year.
“This project has been talked about for decades and is independently assessed as Victoria’s most needed transport infrastructure project,” Minister for Roads and Road Safety Luke Donnellan said.
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Source: Premier of Victoria, North East Link Project
