Vorlage:Infobox Australian Road
The Tullamarine Freeway is a freeway in Melbourne, Australia, linking Melbourne International Airport to the central business district.
Current Route
Due to the original southern sections being upgraded in the early 1990s as part of CityLink, the officialstart of the freeway is at Pascoe Vale Road. Here it is a three lane, high quality dual carriageway, running along the south side of Essendon Airport and the Direct Factory Outlets shopping complex, the former main airport of Melbourne. At the Calder Freeway interchange, staying to the right will lead you to the next section of the Tullamarine Freeway.
The next section is quite narrow, with two lanes running either way and a concrete barrier (later grass and shrubbery) in the middle of the road. Melrose Drive runs alongside its airport-bound side. This section is frequently congested due to the combination of freight traffic from the Hume Highway, which is accessed from the Western Ring Road interchange, and the traffic from the airport. After the ring road interchange, the traffic is slightly better, leading to Melbourne Airport, where the freeway ends.
History
Tullamarine Freeway is one of the oldest freeways in Melbourne, originally constructed in 1968-1970. It was intended to replace Lancefield Road (now Melrose Drive), Tullamarine and parts of Bulla Road, Essendon, providing easy access to the newly built Melbourne Airport. A spur was constructed to link with the Calder Highway at Airport West. From Essendon, a new section heading east to Pascoe Vale and then south along the Moonee Ponds Creek to Mt Alexander Road, Flemington replaced Mt Alexander Road as the main route to the city.
The freeway was initially designated 
for the whole stretch from Tullamarine to Flemington. The short Calder Highway link was designated Calder Freeway 
.
With its completion, citybound heavy vehicles from Hume Highway were diverted here via Pascoe Vale Road. In the 1990s, the completion of the Western Ring Road increased traffic tremendously. It was only relieved by the completion of CityLink, widening the freeway to 8 lanes and extending it south to the West Gate Freeway. The improved sections are now tolled.
Current projects
The Calder Freeway interchange was completed earlier than expected in mid 2007, which underwent dramatic roadworks to alleviate congestion. All works are now complete, with the end result being the decommissioning and removal of two offramps, an additional two lanes inbound, and dedicated Bulla Road-Calder Freeway spurs to eliminate weaving, notorious for many accidents in the area.
Another project, which is well underway is a new bridge and northern entrance to the Essendon Airport through the interchange of Melrose Drive, to provide easy access for the people living in the northern suburbs to access the Essendon Airport district.
Although, initially proposed the route shield for the Tullamarine Freeway will be retained as State Route 43 and will not be changed to the M2 when EastLink is completed in mid 2008. There are no plans for the change in route numbering at this stage.[1]
Exits and Intersections
Tullamarine Freeway 
| |||
| Northbound exits | Distance from Sunbury Road (km) |
Distance from CityLink (km) |
Southbound exits |
| End Tullamarine Freeway continues as Sunbury Road  to Sunbury |
0 | 13 | Start Tullamarine Freeway from Sunbury Road
|
| no exit | Melbourne Airport Centre Road 
| ||
| Melbourne Airport Terminal Drive
|
1 | 12 | no exit |
| Tullamarine Mickleham Road  
|
4 | 9 | Tullamarine Mickleham Road
|
| Tullamarine Western Ring Road 
|
6 | 7 | Tullamarine Western Ring Road
|
| ALBION-JACANA FREIGHT RAIL LINE | ALBION-JACANA FREIGHT RAIL LINE | ||
| Airport West Melrose Drive |
7 | 6 | Airport West Melrose Drive |
| Airport West English Street |
8 | 5 | Airport West English Street |
| Niddrie Calder Freeway  
|
10 | 3 | Niddrie Bulla Road 
|
| Strathmore Bulla Road
|
|||
| no exit | 13 | 0 | Strathmore Bell Street
|
Start Tullamarine Freeway  continues from CityLink
|
End Tullamarine Freeway  continues as CityLink to Melbourne | ||
External links
See also
References
- ↑ Tullamarine Freeway to retain State Route 43, Main Roads Victoria. Retrieved on January 30 2008.