Opposition Leader plans to resurrect controversial $5.8 billion road and tunnel project
If Matthew Guy wins the 2018 state election the East West Link will go ahead, and could potentially be built at the same time as the North East Link. The Opposition Leader plans to resurrect the controversial $5.8 billion road and tunnel project.
Mr Guy said the planned North East Link could not be built until the East West Link was constructed.
“Given the North East Link will funnel 100,000 extra vehicle movements per day on to the Eastern Freeway, the East West Link must be constructed before any North East Link option,” he wrote.
The East West Link was dumped in 2015 by Premier Daniel Andrews who labelled it a “dog of a project”. Taxpayers were set to foot about $1 billion for the ill-fated 18 kilometre tollway proposal.
The Opposition’s roads and infrastructure spokesman, David Hodgett, said “you can’t build North East Link and then do nothing about the Eastern Freeway”. For this reason, it could make sense to attempt to build them together, although he stressed that constructing the projects concurrently was not a confirmed Coalition plan.
The route that may be announced next month by Labor – to build the North East Link through Bulleen – would pour up to 120,000 extra cars a day onto the already congested Eastern Freeway.