East-West Link dead

[Wiimeiser 436]

https://theconversation.com/the-east-west-link-is-dead-a-victory-for-21st-century-thinking-34914

Now I wait the mandatory Melways recall.

 

Though what will happen to the North East Link and the Outer Ring Road?

[Durfsurn 539]

So happy about this - the EWL is an abomination of a project. I think that after the Melbourne Metro is built (incl. Doncaster Rail) then they need to build the "other" freeway connection that isn't finished - the NEL. ORR seems to me like a longer term project and if it is needed then not for at least another decade. 

 

-Billy 

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Interesting to see that the bottom of the world has the same kind of political problems as the rest of us.  Can't get much further south than Melbourne.

[Duke87 1,070]

Wiki article on the project, for those seeking a more neutral point of view.

 

 

I've never been to Australia and had never heard of this project prior to just now, so correct me if I'm wrong here but - as best I can gather it seems the opposition to it is largely based on that it is expensive and people would rather see that money go towards expanding Melbourne's Metro rail network.

 

Which is interesting because this sort of take on projects is extremely familiar and you see the same thing in the US: namely, treating transportation funding as though it is a zero sum game and as though roads and transit are opponents rather than allies.

 

I always say this sort of attitude is ridiculous. There is no reason any region cannot have both excellent highways and excellent transit. Both have their place and their use and we need to stop looking at it as though one is bad and the other is good.

 

As things stand it appears Melbourne already has a sizable network of trams and commuter trains, although there are certainly still opportunities to expand it into more areas and I don't blame anyone for wanting that.

 

Meanwhile the Eastern Freeway dumps traffic onto surface streets northeast of downtown and lacks a connection to the CityLink toll road despite coming tantalizingly close to it (about 5 km). This gap greatly reduces the utility of the Eastern Freeway and it is a shame it will not be getting closed. Although I suppose completing the northeastern quadrant of the outer ring road to connect to the Eastern Freeway (perhaps somewhere near Doncaster) would also be useful. As things stand the Monash Freeway is the only all-freeway route from the east side of town to the west side of town. That's bad because if some incident affects it, traffic has no good alternative. Network redundancy is an important thing for network reliability.

[ROFLyoshi 1,760]

Thank God.

Well the Andrews Labor government was elected on the promise of scrapping this road.

Firstly, I travel on the Eastern Freeway to Bullen Rd every morning to get to university. Traffic is already heavy to to Doncaster Rd exit. Yes I understand that it is intending to remove traffic bottlenecks, but I fear that the bottlenecks will manifest in a much worse fashion at the CityLink exit.

Another thing that irks me is that the project was toted as an alternate Westgate crossing. The issue with this is that they will not start the Western section until the Eastern section us finished, meaning that the traffic will still need to take the Bolte/Westgate to get across, putting even more traffic on.

Finally, the Hoddle St flyover will destroy the reservation for the Doncaster Railway Line. Manningham council currently sits as the only city council in Melbourne without a tram or train. Let's fix that, as they've been waiting 45 years.

[Wiimeiser 436]

Finally, the Hoddle St flyover will destroy the reservation for the Doncaster Railway Line. Manningham council currently sits as the only city council in Melbourne without a tram or train. Let's fix that, as they've been waiting 145 years.

Fixed. Also, my idea was to link it up to the "corner" on the Melbourne Metro.

[ROFLyoshi 1,760]

 

Finally, the Hoddle St flyover will destroy the reservation for the Doncaster Railway Line. Manningham council currently sits as the only city council in Melbourne without a tram or train. Let's fix that, as they've been waiting 145 years.

Fixed. Also, my idea was to link it up to the "corner" on the Melbourne Metro.

 

Hahaha, but seriously it was only proposed in the 1969 plan...

I do recall a minister a while back saying that "just because a road or rail appears in the Melway, doesn't mean it will necessarily be built."

[Wiimeiser 436]

I do recall a minister a while back saying that "just because a road or rail appears in the Melway, doesn't mean it will necessarily be built."

I think that was in response to Peninsula Link?

[__A 792]

Looking forward for Andrews to release the EWL documents to the public. I hope he also starts work on the Metro Rail Tunnel, it needs to start ASAP :\

[ROFLyoshi 1,760]

Looking forward for Andrews to release the EWL documents to the public. I hope he also starts work on the Metro Rail Tunnel, it needs to start ASAP :\

Has it been announced what alignment this will follow?

[__A 792]

 

Looking forward for Andrews to release the EWL documents to the public. I hope he also starts work on the Metro Rail Tunnel, it needs to start ASAP :\

Has it been announced what alignment this will follow?

 

Metro Rail Tunnel/Metro One/Metro Rail Capacity Project follows the original plan of tunnelling from South Kensington to South Yarra via Arden, Parkville, CBD North, CBD South and Domain. It would link the Dandenong and Sunbury Lines together and would allow Frankston and/or Sandringham trains to utilise the Caulfield Loop.

 

[ROFLyoshi 1,760]

 

 

Looking forward for Andrews to release the EWL documents to the public. I hope he also starts work on the Metro Rail Tunnel, it needs to start ASAP :\

Has it been announced what alignment this will follow?

 

Metro Rail Tunnel/Metro One/Metro Rail Capacity Project follows the original plan of tunnelling from South Kensington to South Yarra via Arden, Parkville, CBD North, CBD South and Domain. It would link the Dandenong and Sunbury Lines together and would allow Frankston and/or Sandringham trains to utilise the Caulfield Loop.

Why call it CBD North and South Seems to overcomplicate the thing.

[__A 792]

 

 

 

Looking forward for Andrews to release the EWL documents to the public. I hope he also starts work on the Metro Rail Tunnel, it needs to start ASAP :\

Has it been announced what alignment this will follow?

 

Metro Rail Tunnel/Metro One/Metro Rail Capacity Project follows the original plan of tunnelling from South Kensington to South Yarra via Arden, Parkville, CBD North, CBD South and Domain. It would link the Dandenong and Sunbury Lines together and would allow Frankston and/or Sandringham trains to utilise the Caulfield Loop.

Why call it CBD North and South Seems to overcomplicate the thing.

 

I agree, if it goes via Swanston St I'd just name it the same as the adjacent City Loop stations unless they build it under Russell St cause apparently closing Swanston St for 3-4 years would be like the Berlin Wall :|

 

EDIT: And regarding the NorthEast Link, I'd much prefer that over the EastWest Link

[Wiimeiser 436]

Like this will be an improvement. Stop trying to extort yourselves. Sweetie Belle can do better that that.

[Wiimeiser 436]

 

According to The Age’s Adam Carey,  the Western Distributor would cost around half as much as East-West Link and “looks like a big enough traffic-mover to kill the need to build the western half of the East West Link between the Western Ring Road and CityLink”.

 

No, it won't. If Melbourne's scrawny west will require this proposal then future development won't change a thing about Westlink's construction unless you have plans for a public transit system rivaling New New York's transport tubes. In fact, it'd actually complement that East-West Link being built in Ravenhall as a shortcut quite nicely.

Also, the new plan actually meshes almost perfectly with the Port part of the EWL east section, making an actual connection. (Although...)

Nice job, Andrews, you just gave yourself a bigger headache. Told you Sweetie Belle would make a better Premier...

[ROFLyoshi 1,760]

The thing to me is that this new distributor sounds an awful lot like stage two of the EWL.

I am in favour of the North East Link, as a majority of the traffic that exits at Bulleen Rd heads up Rosanna Rd and onto the Ring Road (I know, I sit through this nearly every morning). The issue for EWL with me was that a lot of the traffic was using Alexandra Pde to get to local areas, and not on towards Flemington. The North East Link would be better as there is a significant portion of traffic heading between the two roads it is linking. Heidelberg is a nightmare to get through, with plenty of trucks thrown into the mix.

[Wiimeiser 436]

The issue for EWL with me was that a lot of the traffic was using Alexandra Pde to get to local areas, and not on towards Flemington.

That's why an elevated distributor or at least some extra ramps. It's a shame the only building in the entirety of Melway maps 43 & 44 that isn't heritage protected on levels exceeding the Taj Mahal is Flinders Street Station (hence the remodel)