East-West road connection

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This article contains information about a planned or expected future road.
It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change as the road's construction or completion approaches and more information becomes available.

The East-West road connection is a proposed 18 kilometres long freeway standard road link in Melbourne, Australia, to run from the western suburbs to the Eastern Freeway. It was proposed in the 2008 East-West Link Needs Assessment (EWLNA) report by Sir Rod Eddington, but similar ideas have been proposed at various times.^[1]

The proposed freeway standard road would start at a junction with the West Gate Freeway near Wellington Road. Heading north-east with an interchange at Hyde Street passing through Yarraville and Footscray over the Maribyrnong River with an interchange at Footscray Road and Dynon Road near Kensington Road, then a tunnel adjacent to Kensington Road to Citylink in Parkville. From Citylink in Parkville a tunnel under Royal Park, Cemetery Road and Alexander Parade to join the Eastern Freeway. There will also be a tunnel connecting Geelong Road and Sunshine Road under Buckley Street, Footscray Road and the Maribyrnong River to a new interchange in the port area connecting to Footscray and Dynon Roads.

1 Route
2 See also
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Route

[edit] Stage One

Inner West to the Port

(a) Construction of tunnels connecting Geelong Road and Sunshine Road to the Port of Melbourne area, running under Footscray Road and the Maribyrnong River along the alignment of Buckley Street, with a new interchange in the port area connecting Footscray Road and Dynon Road.

(b) Construction of an elevated road over the Maribyrnong River connecting to the West Gate Freeway near Williamstown Road to Footscray and Dynon Roads. The new road would also include a connection to Hyde Street, providing a new route for truck access into the port and allowing the extension of truck bans in Footscray and Yarraville.

Estimated cost: $2 billion.

[edit] Stage Two

West Melbourne to Flemington/Parkville

This section would require a mix bored tunnel and cut-and-cover construction, in order to traverse the developed inner city areas of North Melbourne and Kensington. From the port interchange, the route would follow a north-east alignment adjacent to Kensington Road, with J.J. Holland Park required as a staging point for deep tunnelling (to be fully restored at the end of construction). Tunnels in this section are likely to be two or three lanes in each direction.

Estimated cost: $5.5 billion.

[edit] Stage Three

Flemington/Parkville to the Eastern Freeway

The Alignment for this section would follow a route under Royal Park, Cemetery Road, Princes Street and Alexander Pde. At the western end, the tunnels would diverge to provide long, two-lane connections to CityLink for northbound traffic. No southerly connection to CityLink. The Eastern Freeway would also be widened to allow the lane configuration necessary for traffic to enter the tunnel or exit to Hoddle Street and Alexander Pde. Westerly ramps would be included near Hoddle Street and Queens Pde to facilitate local access. This section would provide three lanes in each direction.

Estimated cost: $1.5 billion.