Infrastructure Australia lists North East Link as high-priority project

AUSTRALIA’S peak infrastructure body has declared the North East Link a nationally significant project and ticked off on the government’s business case for the $15.8 billion toll road. Here’s why they believe the project is so important.

AUSTRALIA’S peak infrastructure body has given the North East Link the green light and ticked off on the government’s business case for the $15.8 billion toll road.

The proposal was yesterday marked as a high priority project by Infrastructure Australia and added to its list of nationally significant investments after months of consideration.

The business case was first submitted by the state government in May and found the road would generate $1.30 for every dollar invested and create 10,300 jobs ­during ­construction.

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Infrastructure Australia acting chief executive Anna Chau said a review of the report had found the project could deliver the travel time savings promised to motorists.

“Melbourne’s northeast is home to around one fifth of the city’s population and will accommodate a large part of the city’s population growth in the next 30 years,” she said.

“Currently, there are very few freeway options for travelling between Melbourne’s north and southeast, meaning drivers must pass through Melbourne’s inner city.

“These roads are regularly congested with commuter traffic and freight traffic from the Port of Melbourne.”

An aerial view of the M80 Ring Road with the North East Link design. Picture: Supplied.

The North East Link would link the M3 Eastern Freeway and the M80 Ring Road between Doncaster and Greensborough and is scheduled to be competed by 2027.

It is expected to take 15,000 trucks off suburban roads every day and slash travel times along the corridor by up to 30 minutes.

A 2015 audit found delays on Melbourne’s transport network could cost as much as $9 billion to the economy by 2031.

“Congestion in a growing city like Melbourne has a significant economic impact,” Ms Chau said.

“Infrastructure Australia considers this congestion problem to be nationally significant. “Without action, the network will become increasingly strained, particularly with the future expansion of major industrial precincts in the north and southeast.”

The federal government has promised to contribute $1.75 billion for the project as part of a $8 billion package to tackle congestion in Victoria.

“Infrastructure Australia has found, unequivocally, that the North East Link project stacks up,” Roads Minister Luke Donnellan said.

“This confirms what every driver in the northeast has known for decades — North East Link is urgently needed and only Labor will deliver it.”