POPULAR WORDS

A $700 million Frankston bypass will be built next year with the Brumby Government calling for it to be toll free, the Herald Sun reports.

The Government signed off on the deal this week in a move believed to tie in with the launch of the much anticipated Keeping Melbourne Moving transport plan next month.

The multi-lane bypass is to slash travel times near-by industrial estates offering everyday motorists an alternative route.

Motorists will join the Frankston bypass at the intersection of the Mornington Peninsula Freeway and EastLink.

The bypass will run around the edge of Frankston, Carrum and Mt Eliza and link-up at Mt Martha with the Mornington Peninsula Freeway.

The state Government is set to apply for federal funding to help ease pressure on the state purse and to ensure it remains toll-free.

The Government’s transport committee convened last Saturday to discuss issues including the transport plan that is said to deal in part with Sir Rod Eddington's east-west transport needs report.

The main proposals are a $9 billion east-west road tunnel linking the western suburbs to the Eastern Freeway and a $7 billion rail tunnel from Sunshine to Caulfield.

Eddington also proposed banning trucks from local routes by diverting heavy vehicle traffic and fining those who breached the ban.
In the report, Premier John Brumby says that the bulk of the state surplus will be invested directly into the Government’s transport plan.