Premier of Victoria Dr Denis Napthine and Prime Minister Tony Abbott today announced a $250 million Commonwealth-State partnership to complete the upgrade of the Tullamarine Freeway to Melbourne Airport, creating 200 jobs.
Premier Napthine said widening the freeway between Melrose Drive and Melbourne Airport would make the road corridor more reliable for residents and the freight industry, reduce travel times, and improve connections with Melbourne Airport, one of Victoria’s most critical economic precincts.
"The Victorian Coalition Government will contribute $50 million for this part of the project and an additional $180 million in supporting ramps and connections to surrounding arterial roads," Dr Napthine said.
“The project will create over 44 kilometres of new traffic lanes, including an additional lane constructed in each direction.
“The CityLink-Tullamarine road corridor is utilised by 210,000 vehicles a day, making it one of the most heavily congested roads in Melbourne. The corridor, which varies from two to four lanes in each direction, is the primary link to Melbourne and Essendon airports and becomes heavily congested during peak periods, creating delays for motorists.
“Congestion on the freeway between the Calder Interchange and the Airport has seen traffic speeds reduce by 20km/h over the last decade.
“When added to the Coalition Government’s $850 million agreement with Transurban to update the Tullamarine Freeway section of CityLink, this upgrade will improve traffic flow for airport users, freight companies and the expanding population in Melbourne’s north.
“In the year to September we have had almost eight million international passengers come through Melbourne Airport. It is crucial for tourism, business and growing our economy that visitors are not stuck in traffic congestion on their way to and from the airport,” Dr Napthine said.
Prime Minister Abbott said only Coalition Governments in Canberra and Spring Street have a plan to fix Melbourne’s road congestion.
“By 2031, population growth is expected to increase traffic on this road to 235,000 vehicles a day,” Mr Abbott said.
“Importantly, the upgrade is expected to reduce casualty-related crashes by up to 20 per cent and take approximately 2,300 trucks off local roads. It will increase the capacity of the Tullamarine Freeway by 30 per cent, easing congestion and boosting productivity.
“Construction will start in early 2015 and will be aligned with works on the East West Link. If Victorians want better infrastructure and less time stuck in traffic gridlock, they should vote for the Coalition on 29 November,” Mr Abbott said.
Mr Abbott said the Commonwealth’s contribution of $200 million would be contingent on a final cost-benefit assessment by Infrastructure Australia.
The project will include:
- Widening the Tullamarine freeway by at least one additional lane in each direction between Melrose Drive and Melbourne Airport;
- Installing a Managed Motorway system; and
- Various other works such as a priority queue bypass for buses (e.g. Sky Bus) on the ramp from the Airport onto the Tullamarine Freeway.
Dr Napthine highlighted that the Coalition Government is undertaking the biggest modernisation plan in Victoria’s history – including a new Melbourne Rail Link, which will include a link to the airport, the East-West Link and an upgrade of the Cranbourne-Pakenham Rail corridor during construction of the Mernda Rail extension.
“More than 26,000 jobs will be created through the Coalition Government’s infrastructure program alone,” Dr Napthine said.
“With the announcement today, the CityLink-Tullamarine Freeway widening project will create a further 200 jobs, bringing the total number of jobs involved in building this project to 900.”
8 November 2014