The project is on track to open to the public within 12 months, but underneath Yarraville, vehicles can now travel the full length of the tunnels that are to provide a long-awaited alternative to the West Gate Bridge.
Premier Jacinta Allan played tour guide on Monday, to celebrate a key milestone for the West Gate Tunnel project, driving the entire four-kilometre length of the outbound tunnel for the first time, albeit two years after the project was originally scheduled to open in 2022.
Allan, who drove a car through the tunnel with media on an accompanying bus, promised the project would open before the end of 2025 and “transform transport around the city”.
“The delivery of the West Gate Tunnel project is going to save travel time, which means people will get home safer, sooner, with more time to do the things that they want to do, not be stuck in traffic,” she said.
Once complete, the two tunnels will take traffic underground between the West Gate Freeway and the Maribyrnong River, where vehicles will connect to a new bridge above Footscray Road.
The government estimates the $10 billion project, once opened, will remove 9000 trucks a day from local streets in the inner west, slash travel time for commuters by 20 minutes and provide another option when traffic is congested on the West Gate Bridge.
Premier Jacinta Allan speaks to the media during her visit to the West Gate Tunnel project on Monday.Credit: AAP
“Just about everyone has had an experience where there is an incident on the West Gate Bridge and not only does it grind traffic to a standstill ... it has a knock-on effect across the city,” Allan said.
Inside the sparse three-lane tunnels, work is under way to install more than 10,000 architectural panels on the walls, More than half are already in place.
The two tunnels are different lengths. The outbound tunnel stretches for four kilometres while the city-bound tunnel is 2.8 kilometres.
In sections where the tunnels run alongside each other, 31 pedestrian links connect them and allow the 200-strong crew of workers to finish interior works.
Construction workers install panels in one of the tunnels.
After the Christmas break, crews will begin fitting the tunnels with lights, traffic management systems and asphalt.
While Allan’s guided trip was toll-free, the government remains tight-lipped on the final price motorists will pay, or whether the project will initially have a toll-free period, as was the case with CityLink’s Domain Tunnel.
“Decision on the tolling levels will be set closer to the opening date,” Allan said.
“The levels will be consistent with the rest of the network.”
The government is yet to announce the toll motorists will have to pay to use the new crossing.
The government was also keen on Monday to spruik more than 14 kilometres of new and upgraded walking and cycling paths that run from the western suburbs to the city, and close to nine hectares of new parks and wetlands, predominantly in the west, which form part of the overall construction.
But Transport Infrastructure Minister Danny Pearson would not guarantee that the cycling paths would open at the same time as the first private vehicles are allowed access to the tunnels.
In October, The Age revealed contractors were seeking additional workers and putting on extra shifts to ensure the project remained on track, prompting fears of further delays and more cost blowouts.
On Monday, Allan said the project cost remained $10 billion.
Inside the project on Monday.
“That is my advice,” she said.
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