Extinction Rebellion protests halt peak hour traffic in Melbourne CBD

Peak-hour traffic was brought to a standstill in Melbourne’s CBD for almost an hour following a protest by Extinction Rebellion.

Peak hour traffic was brought to a stand still in Melbourne’s CBD for almost an hour following a protest by Extinction Rebellion. Picture: Gaye Gerard

A climate protest has caused chaos for commuters with traffic brought at a standstill on a busy motorway.

Extinction Rebellion protesters sealed off the Kings Way exit from the West Gate Fwy in Melbourne's CBD from about 8.45am on Tuesday.

Victorian Department of Transport spokesperson Andrew Crooks said the blockade brought traffic to a standstill for about 45 minutes.

“The protest caused a big disruption after initially blocking the ramp for about 15 minutes,” Mr Crooks said.

“We saw delays around 45 minutes for city bound traffic on the freeway.”

A climate protest has caused chaos for commuters with traffic brought at a standstill on a busy motorway. Picture: 9NEWS

A climate protest caused chaos in Melbourne after blocking a major freeway exit during peak hour. Picture: 9NEWS

#BREAKING Extinction Rebellion protesters have blocked off the KINGS WAY exit in Melbourne’s CBD causing traffic chaos during peak hour. @[e-mail]/0gPX7nNDUZ

— Gillian Lantouris (@gillianlant) May 22, 2023

Mr Crooks said police began reopening lanes shortly after 9am, with traffic “rapidly getting back to normal”.

“However, there were still a couple of lanes blocked off until about 10.30am,” he said.

The road has now been reopened to all traffic.

Police were on the scene and had reopened one lane by about 9.30am, but activists remained. Picture: 9NEWS

Climate activists blocked off the Kings Way inbound exit ramp from the West Gate Freeway at about 8.30am. Picture: 9NEWS

Extinction Rebellion are a climate-focused action group whose protest action is targeted at public disruption.

In recent years, the group have stage similar protests in Canberra, Sydney, and Adelaide.

Originally published as Extinction Rebellion protests halt peak hour traffic in Melbourne CBD