Skip to main content

Victorian Government to fund second river crossing

The Victorian Government in Australia is to provide the full funding for the Western Distributor Project, a second river crossing which includes the Monash Freeway Upgrade and upgrades to Webb Dock, after the Federal Government rejected a request for a contribution to the funding. Construction of the US$4.2 billion (AU$5.5 billion) Western Distributor will start in 2017, local motorists paying for the rest of it with tolls extended until 2045. The Government and Transurban in Australia have now signed
April 18, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
The Victorian Government in Australia is to provide the full funding for the Western Distributor Project, a second river crossing which includes the Monash Freeway Upgrade and upgrades to Webb Dock, after the Federal Government rejected a request for a contribution to the funding.

Construction of the US$4.2 billion (AU$5.5 billion) Western Distributor will start in 2017, local motorists paying for the rest of it with tolls extended until 2045.

The Government and Transurban in Australia have now signed an agreement on processes for the tender, planning and engagement stages and announced the establishment of the Western Distributor Authority to get the project completed.

They have also released the first full designs which include two options for connecting the West Gate Freeway to the Western Distributor Tunnel, either directly within the road reserve, or via ramps to a portal in adjacent land.

Key features include: a tunnel under Yarraville and a second river crossing over the Maribyrnong; the longest managed motorway system in Australia from Geelong to Pakenham; 4.5km of new cycling and pedestrian paths including completion of the Federation Trail; Widening the Monash Freeway in two places.

To get dangerous goods trucks, which can’t travel in a tunnel, out of residential streets, the designs include five ramp options to connect the West Gate Freeway directly to Hyde Street.

Related Content

  • May 7, 2020
    Global cities transform space for post-Covid transport
    Glimpses are beginning to emerge of how European and US cities plan to change the way people travel.
  • March 10, 2017
    Upgrades to public transport across Regional Victoria
    The Victorian government in Australia has released a tender for its Road and Rail Minor Works Program, which aims to deliver new car parks, more comfortable waiting areas and better passenger information at train stations across rural and regional Victoria. It also aims to improve cycling infrastructure at stations with new, secure bike cages and hoops to make it easier to ride to the station and catch the train. The US$17 million (AU$22.5 million) program will also upgrade bus stops, signage and acce
  • January 12, 2016
    Egis to operate and maintain Sydney’s WestConnex
    Sydney Motorway Corporation (SMC), Australia, has awarded the contract for the operation and maintenance of WestConnex, Australia’s largest road infrastructure project, to Fulton Hogan Egis O&M (FHEO&M, a partnership of Egis Projects Asia Pacific and Fulton Hogan Construction. WestConnex, which is intended to significantly reduce travel times for commuters in the Sydney area is being delivered in three stages: Stage 1 (WestConnex M4) includes the widening of existing M4 motorway as well as a 5.5km tunne
  • August 21, 2017
    New Hampshire plans for tomorrow’s communication
    Someone once likened predicting the future to ‘nailing a jelly to the wall’. With ITS, C-ITS and V2X technology progressing at such a pace, predicting the future is more akin to trying to nail three jellies to the wall – but only having one nail. And yet with roadways having a lifetime measured in decades, that is exactly what highway engineers and traffic planners are expected to do. Fortunately, New Hampshire DoT (NHDoT) believes its technological advances may be able to provide a solution. The Central Ne