New report by Infrastructure Australia shows more investment needed to tackle congestion crisis

Melburnians know the West Gate and Monash Freeways are the busiest roads in Australia. But what else can be done to get motorists moving faster on their daily commute?

Commuters on Melbourne’s busiest road corridors are stuck with the worst traffic delays in the country and more funding commitments are needed to stop playing catch-up, the nation’s peak infrastructure body has warned.

Federal Urban Infrastructure Minister Alan Tudge will seize on a new report by Infrastructure Australia on Tuesday to argue for the East West Link, which would likely go from Hoddle St to Parkville linking the Eastern Freeway with CityLink.

Congestion in Melbourne will double by 2031 if no further projects are delivered and much of the city’s rail system will be at capacity by the time the $11 billion Metro tunnel is complete.

Melbourne’s most congested roads in the morning peak. Picture: Infrastructure Australia

The journey times on the two slowest corridors in the country — the links between the West Gate Freeway and Princess Freeway and Princes Freeway and Monash Freeway — will continue to soar unless new roads are delivered.

Commuters are currently experiencing 10,800 hours worth of delays on the West Gate Freeway-Princess Freeway corridor, costing them $218,000 every day.

By 2031, this will soar to 16,800 hours at a daily cost of $334,000.

Growth in the outer north will also pile pressure on the Hume Freeway where drivers will spend three quarters of their journey stuck in traffic by the end of the decade.

The Infrastructure Australia audit — the first of its kind since 2015 — will heighten calls for the Victorian Government to reverse its opposition to the East West Link.

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“This report reinforces what every other report and major transport body says: the East West Link is critically needed,” Mr Tudge said.

“Failure to build the East West Link will just mean even greater headaches for residents in the eastern suburbs in the years to come.”

Mr Tudge said the Melbourne Metro tunnel was a worthwhile project but “we are 10 years behind where Melbourne’s infrastructure should be”.

The Morrison Government has committed $4 billion to build the first stage of the East West Link, urging the Andrews Government to take the money and give the project the green light.

Victorian Transport Infrastructure Minister Jacinta Allan said the report showed the importance of the Andrews Government’s record levels of transport infrastructure investment.

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“Projects like Metro Tunnel, North East Link and 75 level crossing removals — on top of our massive upgrades to suburban and regional roads — will slash congestion, reduce crowding and carry more people as our city and state grows.”

The study also raised concern about Victoria’s regional rail system, with daily passenger boardings in Geelong estimated to increase by 28,000 by 2031.

RACV’s general manager of public policy, Bryce Prosser, said the figures showed authorities should consider plans for a second Metro tunnel.

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