The Andrews Labor Government today committed to building the North East Link to help fill the missing link in Melbourne’s freeway network.
At an estimated cost of $16.5 billion, the project is the largest ever transport in Victoria’s history and will create as many as 10,000 jobs.
The new road will help ease congestion on local roads, with up to 15,000 trucks taken off suburban streets daily and more than 9,000 vehicles removed from hotspots like Rosanna Road.
“People have been talking about connecting the Ring Road and the Eastern Freeway for decades but it’s always been put in the too hard basket – not anymore,” Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said.
“This is the biggest transport project in Victoria’s history – our state needs it and only Labor will get it done.”
The North East Link will begin on the Eastern Freeway at Springvale Road where capacity will be doubled to allow for six extra lanes to eliminate some of Melbourne’s worst bottleneck.
The Victorian Government has decided to proceed for Corridor A as its preferred rout for the upcoming North East Link
The mega-freeway will also include a five kilometre long tunnel underneath the Yarra River and then connect up north with the existing Greensborough Highway.
Procurement and planning approval processes are set to begin in 2018-2019, before major construction begins in 2020.
Minister for Roads and Road Safety Luke Donnellan said the plan was a huge step forward for Victoria and that the project would provide significant improvements for motorists.
“The North East Link will take 15,000 trucks off local roads, create thousands of jobs and deliver massive travel time savings for drivers.”
For more details on the North East Link project, click here.
