Great Gridlock Race: What’s the quickest way into the city from the west?

We put five modes of transport to the test to see who can get through peak-hour travel chaos the fastest. See the video.

If you live in the west, two wheels might be the way to travel into the city. Even two feet can be quicker than public transport.

The Herald Sun tested five modes of transport to journey from Yarraville to Southbank amid the peak-hour travel chaos plaguing the west.

Road and rail disruptions have become a constant part of life in Melbourne’s western suburbs, with works on the West Gate Tunnel stretching into their fifth year with no end in sight.

The interruptions are often even worse during the school holidays, with the Herald Sun earlier this month revealing the state government issued extraordinary advice for people to work from home.

Buses are replacing trains on the Werribee and Williamstown lines until July 9, making any journey at least an hour long – if you’re lucky.

The challenge found cycling was the quickest way to make the 9km trip, our rider Ethan Kusch clocking in at 24 minutes, making use of the dedicated bike paths to record an average speed of 23km/h.

Commuter challenge participant Ethan Kusch was the quickest. Picture: David Crosling

“It was awesome. Got here first. It was a bit chilly but there was no traffic.’’

The motorcyclist was next to arrive at 27 minutes, negotiating trucks, cars and roadworks along Footscray Rd and through Docklands.

But car driver Jackson Haddad, who took the West Gate Bridge route, was delayed exiting Williamstown Rd and crawled into Southbank in 40 minutes.

Motorist Jackson Haddad got held up getting on the West Gate Bridge. Picture: David Crosling

“It was a bit of a nightmare getting on to the West Gate. Think we waited about 15 minutes just to get on the bridge,’’ he said.

That time was a mere three minutes faster than runner Fergus Ellis whose size 12s carried him along Footscray Rd and Southbank Promenade.

Runner Fergus Ellis was quicker than public transport. Picture: David Crosling

“It was just under 44 minutes. Nice view of Melbourne on the way in but (I’m) pretty sweaty.

“But I’d rather run in both directions than catch a bus any day,’’ Fergus said.

On the bus and the slowest, by a long way, was not surprisingly Helena Powell whose disjointed trip – bus to North Melbourne and then packed City Loop train to Flinders St station – took one hour and four minutes.

All for a journey that would normally take about 18 minutes.

Motorcyclist Ian Royall was second fastest in the challenge. Picture: David Crosling

“Yeah we made it,’’ she said. “Long journey, won’t want to do it again, but we did it.”

The challenge was a mere snapshot of the daily travel headaches endured by residents of the western suburbs.

And the delays get worse the further out travellers live, with rail and road journeys often topping two hours from Werribee.

Helena Powell took more than hour on public transport to reach Southbank. Picture: David Crosling

About 300 substitute buses are ferrying up to 30,000 passengers every day with as many as nine of the Metro network’s 16 lines disrupted.

Works on the West Gate Tunnel are causing most of the turmoil to long-suffering residents, with the problem becoming so bad that Public Transport Users Association and the State Opposition called for priority lanes be declared on some major routes, such as Footscray Rd, for the bus replacements.

PTUA spokesman Daniel Bowen said a bus carrying 70 people should have priority over cars.

Motorists’ pain is made worse by the closures of Dynon Rd, one of the west’s main arterials, between the CityLink inbound exit and Dryburgh St until August 31.

The West Gate Tunnel project was, in 2017, budgeted to cost $6.7bn and be ready by 2022 but the budget has blown out to $10.8bn for completion hopefully by 2025.

The project will create a second river crossing and widen the freeway from eight to 12 lanes. A new elevated roadway above Footscray Rd will Connect CityLink, West Melbourne and the Docklands to the twin tunnels.

Seven lines of the Metro network will have bus replacement services operating on Thursday. On Friday and the weekend, the number of affected lines will rise to nine as people try to attend events and footy matches.

A government spokesman said the Metro Tunnel, West Gate Tunnel and level crossing removals projects would slash travel times and reduce road congestion.

“Thousands of Big Build workers will be working around the clock during the school holidays to minimise disruptions.”