East West Link (Melbourne)

East West Link Victoria
General information
Type	Freeway  (Proposed)
Length	18 km (11 mi)
Major junctions
East end	Eastern Freeway Clifton Hill, Melbourne
	CityLink
West end	Western Ring Road Sunshine West, Melbourne
Location(s)
Major suburbs / towns	Clifton Hill, Collingwood, Fitzroy North, Carlton, Parkville, Flemington, Kensington, Footscray, Tottenham, Derrimut, Sunshine West
Highway system
Highways in Australia National Highway • Freeways in Australia Highways in Victoria
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The East West Link is a proposed 18-kilometre tollway in Melbourne, Australia, to connect the Eastern Freeway at Clifton Hill with the Western Ring Road at Sunshine West. The Napthine Coalition Government signed a $5.3 billion contract with the East West Connect consortium in September 2014, just prior to the November 2014 state election, to begin construction on the eastern tunnel segment of the project.^[1] It became one of the central issues in the election, and a subsequent change in government led to the project's cancellation at a cost of $1.1 billion.^[2] The problem of poor "connectivity between Melbourne's Eastern Freeway and CityLink" has since been included in Infrastructure Australia's list of Australia's 32 "highest priority" infrastructure needs and remains part of long-term state road planning.^[3][4]

The project's $6 billion first stage was planned as a 4.4 km tunnel from Hoddle Street, Clifton Hill to CityLink at Parkville, due for completion by early 2020.^[5] Work on the second stage, the western section between Parkville and the Western Ring Road, was expected to commence in late 2015 and be completed by 2023.^[6] The project's total cost was estimated at $15 to $17 billion.^[7]

The road project was proposed in 1999 by then Premier Jeff Kennett, but gained prominence when it became one of the chief recommendations of the 2008 East-West Link Needs Assessment report, which warned that steady growth in port freight and population growth was rapidly taking Melbourne roads to capacity. The report's author, Sir Rod Eddington, said an alternative river crossing was also imperative to lessen the city's dependence on the West Gate Bridge, while an additional east–west link was needed to the city's north because of capacity constraints on the congested Monash-CityLink-West Gate corridor. Eddington said the benefits for the city included relieving congestion on Hoddle Street, reducing east–west rat running through suburban streets, assisting north–south traffic flows including public transport, and improving accessibility to city jobs for western suburbs residents.^[8][9]

The proposed freeway standard road was to start at the Western Ring Road at Laverton North, connect with Market Road, Brooklyn, then descend into two separate three-lane tunnels at Kingsville, to link with the Eastern Freeway. On-ramps and off-ramps were expected to be provided near Dynon Road, Footscray for port access, and at its junction with CityLink and the Eastern Freeway.^[8][10][11]

The project attracted public criticism over its effectiveness to reduce congestion, prioritisation ahead of public transport, transparency of business case and local effect on Royal Park and Melbourne Zoo. Local councils and public transport advocates opposed the project and several community groups were formed to block its construction.^[12]

In 2013, then Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews criticised and campaigned against the project, promising to abandon the project if Labor won government at the 2014 state election. The then Labor opposition said that part of the project's western section may still be built, though not in the government's first term.^[13] After winning office and subsequently cancelling the project, the new Labor government initially proposed its West Gate Distributor as a lower-cost port link for heavy freight vehicles, but in early 2015 unveiled plans by infrastructure company Transurban to build the multibillion-dollar West Gate Tunnel project as a more expansive route, providing a second major river crossing and a partial western bypass in the city's inner west. This alternative project began construction in early 2018 and was originally expected to be complete in 2022. However, due to financial difficulties and lengthy delays, the West Gate Tunnel will open from 2025.

In November 2017, the Coalition Opposition in Victoria, led by Opposition Leader Matthew Guy, pledged to build the former project combined with the proposed North East Link if it won government at the 2018 state election.^[14] Following an upset victory for the Coalition at the 2019 federal election,^[15] then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison offered $4 billion to build the eastern section of the project and $3 billion from the private sector, despite the Labor state government refusing to build the project.^[16] After the Coalition lost the 2022 federal election, the new Labor federal Government led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed they would not fund the project, and that the funding "set aside" by the previous Government did not exist. Funding was instead committed to the proposed Suburban Rail Loop rapid transit system. As of 2024, the Coalition both in federal and state Opposition remain committed to building the East West Link if elected.