EastLink

For other meanings, see Eastlink (disambiguation).

EastLink will be a A$2.5 billion tolled freeway linking a large area of Melbourne's eastern and south-eastern suburbs. It is a part of Melbourne's Metropolitan Ring Road project. It was originally proposed as a toll-free road, however the state government later reneged and imposed tolls. The Federal Government subsequently withdrew their partial funding. This continues to be a source of ongoing controversy.

EastLink will be electronically tolled with no booths, using a system similar to (and interoperable with) the one used on the CityLink freeway. It is expected to be completed by mid-2008.

Route

It will begin from the eastern end of the Eastern Freeway at Nunawading, tunnelling under the Mullum-Mullum Creek area, heading towards Ringwood. It will then travel 40 km south towards Frankston, going through the suburbs Wantirna, Wantirna South, Scoresby, Rowville, Mulgrave, Dandenong North, Noble Park, Keysborough, Dandenong South, Bangholme, and Carrum Downs, before ending at the northern end of the Frankston Freeway. The majority of the freeway will have three lanes running in each direction, however further to the south it will have mainly two lanes.

Interchanges

The freeway starts from the end of the Eastern Freeway at Springvale Road which the traffic flows to and from the freeway in Donvale. The pre-exising interchange at Springvale Road is undergoing modification to create a single-point urban interchange (SPUI), to cater for a greater amount of traffic turning from Springvale Road to the freeways, and vice-versa.

Interchanges along the freeway are as follows from north to south. All interchanges are full diamond interchanges, unless otherwise stated.

Ringwood Bypass : Ringwood
Maroondah Highway (Whitehorse Road) : Ringwood (full SPUI, with the exception of no right turn into Maroondah Highway from southern offramp)
Canterbury Road : Ringwood
Boronia Road : Wantirna
Burwood Highway : Wantirna
High Street Road : Wantirna South
Ferntree Gully Road : Scoresby
Wellington Road : Rowville
Police Road: Mulgrave (northern ramps only)
Monash Freeway (Tom Wills interchange) : Dandenong North (full stack interchange, with the exception of access from EastLink northbound to Monash eastbound and from Monash westbound to EastLink southbound)
Princes Highway : Noble Park
Cheltenham Road : Keysborough (northern ramps only)
Dandenong Bypass: Dandenong South
Greens Road : Dandenong South
Thompson Road : Bangholme
Rutherford Road: Seaford (northern ramps only)

The freeway then merges with the Frankston Freeway in Carrum Downs.

History

Management and Recent History

In 2004, the overall project fell under the management of a newly formed SEITA (South Eastern Integrated Transport Authority), an autonomous division of the state Department of Infrastructure. Management of the freeway itself during and after construction is the responsibility of ConnectEast (a privately listed company). Thiess-John Holland, a group formed by the partnership of two major constructon companies, is responsible for the construction of the project.

EastLink's construction began in March 2005, and is scheduled for completion in April 2008.

It is reported that EastLink was combined into a single project from the Eastern Freeway Extension Tunnel and the Scoresby Freeway projects by the Victorian State Government in 2003, although the project never had these divisions and the entire length (from the Eastern Freeway at Springvale Road to the Frankston Freeway) was always proposed as the "Eastern Ring Road".

Naming history

Over the years the name of the project has changed several times.

It was originally named the Eastern Ring Road during proposal and for decades thereafter, in keeping with Melbourne's proposed ring road system of which the Western and Metropolitan (Northern) Ring Roads are completed.

Scoresby Bypass was then coined by the media, although it was incorrect as the freeway actually runs straight through the suburb of Scoresby rather than bypassing it. The total project encompasses many suburbs and why the suburb of Scoresby was chosen to be "bypassed" by the media is unknown. Signs were erected at some points along the route, declaring it as the proposed "Eastern Ring Road - Scoresby Section", and for a period of time during the 1980s the Melway street directories reflected this (later it was changed to "Scoresby Freeway").

It then became referred to as the Mitcham to Frankston Freeway another name coined by the Melbourne media. This name was also incorrect as the project does not begin in Mitcham, nor does it end in Frankston.

After heated political resolution, it was finally proposed that the project would be called EastLink. The new name was announced by then Premier Steve Bracks at a ceremony in Rowville, on 23 March 2005.^[1] The new name was reportedly chosen because it is easier to say and apparently easier to remember and fit on the street directories. It is likely that the name was inspired by that of CityLink, Melbourne's only other toll road (see note on tolling below).

Many residents believe there was nothing wrong with its original name, and argue that although most never knew what its original name was, it would have been much easier to remember and lead to no confusion.

On February 27 2008, it was announced that the EastLink / Monash Freeway interchange would be named the "Tom Wills Interchange", after the founder of Australian rules football Tom Wills.^[2]

On March 24, 2008 Tim Pallas announced that the twin tunnels would be named 'Melba' and 'Mullum Mullum', in the inbound and outbound direction, respectively^[3].

Tolling

EastLink will be electronically tolled and toll charges will be made via transmitting electronic devices called "tags" which are placed on the inside of the windscreen of the vehicle behind the rear vision mirror. Tolls can be charged in three different ways.

By having any Australian electronic tolling "tag" in the vehicle you are travelling in, as long as the vehicle is registered to the tag owner's database.
By registering a video account with ConnectEast. A photograph of the number plate of the vehicle will be taken and matched to the account holder, charging the account holder the toll plus a small processing fee.
By purchasing a 72 hour "trip pass" from ConnectEast either over the telephone, the EastLink website or at the six customer service centres throughout eastern Melbourne.

Prices for the use of the tollway vary greatly. For cars, a one way trip between two consecutive interchanges starts from 32c for a sections between Maroondah Highway and High Street Road, right up to a one way trip through the tunnel section between Maroondah Highway / Ringwood Bypass and Springvale Road which costs $2.22. Higher rates apply for some 4WD's, some utility vehicles, buses and trucks.

Discounts are also offered to car drivers. A 20% discount off the cost of any trip(s) taken on a Saturday or Sunday as well as 10% off a one way trip between two consecutive interchanges on weekdays. At any time, cars will not be charged more than $4.82 for a one way trip on EastLink.

"Breeze" tag

Datei:EastLink Breeze.png

ConnectEast has developed a tag called "Breeze" specifically for EastLink, but can be used on any electronic toll road in Australia including CityLink. It is about half of the size of the CityLink developed tag, the "e-TAG". It's design represents the "free flow driving experience that EastLink will provide".

Shared pedestrian/bicycle path (EastLink Trail)

A shared walking/cycle path is also planned to follow the same route as the EastLink project. According to SEITA, once complete, cyclists and pedestrians will be able to cycle or walk the entire distance uninterrupted along a 3 metre wide dedicated concrete path.^[4]^[5]^[6]

The path will follow the tollway as follows:

Mullum Mullum Valley, Ringwood Bypass, Schwerkolt Cottage and Eastland (Mullum Mullum Creek Trail) to;
Simpsons Park / Heatherdale Reserve Proclamation Park to;
Koomba Park via Dandenong Creek Trail to Wantirna Reserve on to;
Blind Creek / Llewellyn Park Complex on (Blind Creek Trail) to;
Nortons Park, Shepherds Bush, Drummies Bridge Reserve to;
Jells Park Trail Network and Chesterfield Farm;
Mulgrave Reserve / Dandenong Creek and Tirhatuatan Park through to;
Fotheringham Reserve Trail to Mile Creek and Greaves Reserve via Dandenong Creek trail to;
National Watersports Complex, Patterson Lakes open space, Carrum Foreshore or via Ray Dove Reserve, Edithvale Wetland, Seaford, Frankston Foreshore and the Port Phillip Bay Trail Network beyond.

There will also be a 60 metre footbridge which will be built across Mountain Highway and Burwood Highway. Most intersections on the path will be grade separated, however in a few cases, the crossing is via pedestrian signals.

Vorlage:Wide image

Controversies

The biggest controversy surrounding this project has been the issue of tolls. The Victorian Government, led by Steve Bracks, initially gave an undertaking that the road would be toll free, a promise on which they later reneged. This led to a total withdrawal of what had been partial federal funding of the project. This policy change has caused much debate, discussion and some resentment in some quarters, and was a major issue in the run up to the 2002 state election. The Victorian Government's position is that project was not viable without tolls.

The Federal government withdrawal of funding was based on the premise that funding was only available for the road if the road was toll free. However, at the same time, they were also funding a tolled freeway in Sydney, the Westlink motorway. This led to the controversial belief in some quarters that the funding withdrawal was solely designed to discredit the Victorian Government, rather than being driven by a reluctance to fund toll roads.

The Victorian State opposition, led by Robert Doyle, initially opposed any form of tolling on the road. Subsequently this policy was changed to support tolls. The opposition leadership now led by Ted Ballieu continues to support tolls.

During the planning stages of the project, businesses in the Rutherford Road industrial area (located at the Southern terminus of the freeway) wanted access via on/off ramps to the Mornington Peninsula Freeway and Frankston Freeway, in addition to EastLink. Prior to this project they had an off ramp only from the Mornington Peninsula Freeway; into the industrial area. Under Eastlink, this will be retained, but no onramps will be built onto these existing roads. The Mornington Peninsula Freeway, and the Frankston Freeway, despite being on their doorstep will be inaccessible. The only onramp from Rutherford Road will be onto EastLink, Northbound.

One of the terms of the contract between the private company managing the freeway and the State Government is that should the State Government close any public roads, leading to a measurable increase in traffic (and therefore revenue) on the toll road, the State Government would be entitled to 50% of the revenue increase resulting from the public road closures. This has triggered speculation that the government may close some public roads to boost its own revenue. A possibility is that the government will close a lane in each direction on Springvale road, a public road that runs parallel to the Eastlink freeway. To justify the lane closures, the State Government could argue that traffic volumes had been reduced on Springvale road by the Eastlink and that the closed lanes would be more suitable as bus-only lanes.Vorlage:Fact New northbound lanes have recently been constructed as Bus Only lanes between Waterways Estate and Cheltenham Road. These may be extended further north along Springvale Road.

On August 28, 2006, due to the late completion of bridge preparation works on the Belgrave and Lilydale railway line, the line was closed for the morning with inadequate warning to commuters of the closure of the line between Blackburn and Ringwood stations causing chaos at Ringwood where lengthy queues formed for the replacement buses. Passengers at Heatherdale, Mitcham and Nunawading stations were stranded because of the mess where the delay was caused by the portable crane "Snow White" being unable to operate near the rail line where bridge supports are being constructed. The ground was too soft for the crane and gravel had to be ordered in causing the delay. Theiss John Holland has to pay penalties to Connex Melbourne while commuters will not be reimbursed.^[7]

Finally, many in the local area at the Southern end of EastLink argue that EastLink will in fact funnel much more traffic onto the Frankston Freeway, which will only aggravate the existing congestion at the Frankston Freeway terminus; at the corner of McMahons Road and Cranbourne road. They argue further that a Frankston Bypass is necessary, to complete the missing link in the currently split Mornington Peninsula Freeway. This has received much attention in local Frankston newspapers. VicRoads argue that their research indicates no such congestion will occur. The Frankston Bypass route has long been marked in the Melway street directory. Former Victorian Transport Minister Peter Batchelor, has in the past said that "just because a future freeway appears in the Melway, does not mean that the road is planned or will ever actually be built". Frankston Council has been in talks with EastLink, with a view to getting the bypass built from EastLink to as far as Cranbourne Road. In addition, the local MP for the Federal seat of Dunkley, Bruce Billson, is also working with local councils with a view to applying pressure on the state government for the Frankston Bypass to be built.^[8]

Environmental issues

Many environmental groups in Melbourne's east and south-east object to the project, due to a number of factors, including vehicle emissions and disruption of habitat (in places such as the Mullum Mullum Valley and Dandenong Valley Wetlands). However, the road was the subject of an extensive Environmental Effects Statement (June 1998), which was followed by an extensive public hearing process in April 1999 before the final Government decision to proceed.

According to EastLink's builders, the road will relieve traffic congestion throughout Melbourne's eastern and south-eastern suburbs, resulting in more efficient traffic flow, therefore reducing fuel consumption and exhaust output.^[9]

During the planning phase (then a VicRoads project), a large debate surrounding damage to the Mullum Mullum Valley occurred. A number of options for the path of the road through the valley were considered. The option chosen - for two 1.6 km tunnels - was the second-to-most expensive, and the second-to-most environmentally friendly.^[10] Other options considered in planning included a surface road for the entire length, much shorter tunnels, and slightly longer tunnels.

Construction progress

As at May 2008, construction is in its final stages. Construction is planned to finish by mid 2008 as promised by Premier John Brumby^[11]. At this point, it is estimated that Eastlink will open within the next two months.

Tunnel lining is just about completed. All bridges are complete, with many of them open. Electrical service installation (including tolling equipment, street lights and traffic lights) is well underway along the entire route, and in some locations has been tested and are already in operation.

Minor residential works, including road truncations and intersections in the Ringwood, and Mullum Mullum Valley regions are currently being constructed.

The bridge of Heatherton Road over the intersection of EastLink and Princes Highway was opened on 2007-07-02. As a result, there will be no direct access to Princes Highway from Heatherton Road (or vice-versa) until a link road is constructed in the future, set to commence soon. Alternate access is available via Gladstone and Chandler Roads. The Ryder Street loop is also now open to local traffic. A link road between Princes Highway and Heatherton Road was announced well into the construction of EastLink, but construction of the road has yet to begin.

The Monash Freeway speed limit will remain at 80km/h until the completion of EastLink. Additionally, the Jacksons Road eastbound ramp opened on 2007-07-23 and as a result, the Police Road eastbound ramp is permanently closed.

Most of tollway has been sealed

The Dandenong Bypass opened to traffic twelve months earlier than expected on 9 December 2007.^[12]

References

Vorlage:Reflist

External links

Official website

EastLink official website (run by ConnectEast)