Victoria University’s Institute for Supply Chain and Logistics says it’s the Stage Three section of East West Link that should be being built
Melbourne faces never-before-seen gridlock issues in a nearing future, with the only significant river crossing between the west and the port and city now hitting its capacity.
Director of Victoria University’s Institute for Supply Chain and Logistics Dr Hermione Parsons says the less-talked about third stage of the East West Link project provides the most viable answer to the impending traffic doom.
“Creating the second river crossing should be priority number one,” Parsons says.
“This will relieve the pressure on the West Gate Bridge to allow all traffic, including freight vehicles, to move across the city and to access the port, markets, rail terminals and refineries.”
She says the Port of Melbourne’s third stevedoring operation, due to begin operations in 2017, along with the general increase in Victoria’s overall freight task, could add up to 1,500 slow-moving container truck journeys to the West Gate Bridge daily.
“Further population growth in the west and north-west of the city will spread traffic problems further still.
The planned third stage of the East West Link project would see a part-tunnel connection between the Western Ring Road, and the existing CityLink tollway just north of the river.
The project is distinct from the West Gate Distributor plan, which will see new on-off ramps creating a direct connection between the West Gate freeway and the Port of Melbourne for heavy vehicles specifically.
Parsons says the new Victorian government deserves credit for moving forward on the distributor project.
She also commends its plan to remove 50 level rail crossings from throughout the metropolitan area to improve safety and reduce metropolitan congestion.
However, in terms of supply chain risk management she says both of these projects address local objectives and represent “low-hanging fruit”.
“The short-term plans are good, but only a long-term solution will fix the choke point of the West Gate Bridge,” she says, reiterating its importance in the road network, and the potential consequences if it ever needed to be closed, even temporarily.
“If the bridge closes, traffic will grind to a halt all around inner Melbourne,” she says, listing the affected area to include the central business district, the inner west, and a block of suburbs extending as far away as Sunshine at the Western Ring Road (13.5 km from the closest end of the bridge), Brunswick (10 km), Clifton Hill (10.3km) and St Kilda (9 km).
Parsons fears the third stage of East West Link, which she and her colleagues now refer to as “West Link”, is not being considered because of the political controversy surrounding the now-abandoned first stage of the project.
She is urging Premier Daniel Andrews to ensure the new overseeing body Infrastructure Victoria is given the opportunity to approve its development, with a redesign of the less urgent eastern components of the East West Link project.