East West Link remains a high priority
In our opinion Melbourne’s East West Link remains a high priority.
At Buyer Solutions we travel this route frequently and it is simply a nightmare of traffic congestion and frankly a huge waste of time for anyone doing business in Melbourne. We are fortunate that at Buyer Solutions we have some control over when we need to engage with the perpetual traffic snarl that is Alexandra Parade and beyond. Its bad all the time however it is significantly worse, almost a parking lot in peak hour. Two lanes near Royal Park and Melbourne’s Zoo are simply inadequate. Inject some cyclists into the mix, with large trucks, medium trucks and cars and it is really quite dangerous.
The Age recently published several good articles on this subject….. Josh Gordon – State Political Editor has the following to say………….
“The East West Link has been singled out as a top priority by Australia’s infrastructure umpire, bringing into question a decision by the Andrews government to spend hundreds of millions of dollars axing the contract for the road. A landmark report by Infrastructure Australia has warned the road link – joining the Eastern Freeway to the Tullamarine Freeway – will be needed in the near future to avoid crippling congestion. The report, ranking 93 project proposals around the nation, says if the link is not built the cost of delays inflicted by traffic snarls along the road corridor will double over the next two decades, rising from $73 million in 2011 to $144 million by 2031.”
“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,” the report said. “This results in congestion and delays on Melbourne’s urban road network for both passenger and freight vehicles.” 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.”
The finding will provide the state opposition – which has flagged plans to revisit the road as a policy for the next election – with added ammunition to attack the Andrews government over its decision to abandon the project. It follows a report by Victoria’s Auditor-General finding Labor’s decision to abandon the project has so far cost taxpayers more than $1.1 billion “for little tangible benefit”.
Labor announced plans to dump the project before the November 2014 poll, claiming the contract – signed just weeks before the election – was not worth the paper it was written on. A business case released after the election suggested the project failed to generate a positive return using a basic benefit-cost analysis preferred by Infrastructure Australia.
The Infrastructure Australia Report, providing a plan for the next 15 years, rates the road link as a “high priority initiative”. This places it on the same footing – at least according to Infrastructure Australia – as the Andrews government’s $11 billion Metro Rail project to link the Sunbury and Cranbourne Pakenham rail lines with twin nine-kilometre cross-city tunnels.
Among other proposals, the report also identified a Hoddle Street capacity upgrade as a high priority, warning the total cost of congestion on Melbourne’s major roads could triple to about $9 billion a year by 2031 if nothing is done. “Hoddle Street is often heavily congested, and as a result, is unsafe and inefficient,” it said.
State Labor has a busy infrastructure agenda, including the metro rail project, a new toll road to the west of the city connecting the West Gate Freeway to CityLink, and its signature level crossing removal program. These projects have also been ranked as “high priority initiatives”. Treasurer Tim Pallas said he welcomed Infrastructure Australia’s decision to classify the Western Distributor, the removal of level crossings, Melbourne Metro and the Tullamarine Freeway widening as high priority projects.
“We trust that the inclusion of these projects means the federal government rectifies the unfair distribution of infrastructure funding, which currently has Victoria receiving only 9 per cent, while NSW receives 36 per cent.” Infrastructure Australia chief executive Philip Davies said Infrastructure Australia had been working “very closely” with the Andrews government to identify priority areas. But he said ultimately the focus was on getting the mix right to meet future challenges linked to strong population growth.
“Melbourne will need in the order of 500,000 to 700,000 new houses within the next 15 to 20 years … to meet the growing population,” Mr Davies told Fairfax Media. Mr Davies said there was no question the road funding system was “broken”, calling it unfair, unsustainable and inefficient.
To read the full article please click here or below, it is very interesting.
Read more: https://www.theage.com.au/victoria/east-west-link-remains-a-high-priority-says-infrastructure-umpire-20160216-gmv9h6.html#ixzz413E6qPC7
Follow us: @theage on Twitter | theageAustralia on Facebook
For up to date information on what’s happening in real estate in Melbourne, contact Janet at jspencer@buyersolutions.com.au or 0418 101 146. If you are planning to buy property in Melbourne and Victoria in 2016 book your complimentary consultation or add it to your New Years resolutions.
Buying property, Housing Affordability, Housing Market, Investment, Janet Spencer, Overseas Buyers, Plan Melbourne, Real Estate News & Opinion
+61 39816 8555