What you need to know
What is the East West Link?
The former State Government planned to build an east west road link across Melbourne, spanning approximately 18 kilometres across the city. This project was to be divided into an Eastern section and a Western section, with the Eastern section to be the first to roll-out.
The Eastern section would have connected the Eastern Freeway with CityLink, and was to include a tunnel section, taking the road underground across parts of Melbourne. The Western section would have linked the Port of Melbourne to West Footscray and the Western Ring Road. This section was to be completed in stage two.
This project was being managed by the Linking Melbourne Authority, who previously managed the Peninsula Link project.
What was our role in this?
We didn't support the State Government allocating funding to this project over other more urgent items – such as constructing the Metro Rail Tunnel and improving public transport options to Melbourne Airport. In our opinion, the western section of the East West Link (not the eastern section which was proposed) is more urgently needed to provide drivers with an alternative to the Westgate Freeway.
We were in contact with all levels of government, particularly the State Government, the Linking Melbourne Authority and other Victorian councils to advocate our position on the East West Link project.