The West Gate Tunnel is now open to traffic, providing an alternative journey to the West Gate Bridge thanks to new twin tunnels, as well as new links to the port, the city and CityLink.
The West Gate Bridge had reached its capacity prior to delivery of the project, with a single incident having the potential to bring the network to a standstill.
That’s why the West Gate Tunnel Project was developed, to ease congestion on the West Gate Freeway and West Gate Bridge and reduce what’s believed to be 9000 trucks a day from residential streets by providing more direct links to the port.
A new tunnel under Yarraville will now link the widened West Gate Freeway to a bridge over the Maribyrnong River and a new road above Footscray Road. New exits from this bridge will take trucks directly into the Port of Melbourne.
The West Gate Tunnel project has also delivered 14 kilometres of new and upgraded walking/cycling paths, an extension of the Wurundjeri Way, a total of two river crossings, new express lanes and nine hectares of new parks and wetlands. Nine kilometres of new and improved nose walls were also delivered in conjunction.
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Delivery of the project has also seen the implementation of 24/7 No-Truck Zones on key local roads, along with new curfews on Williamstown Road – further removing trucks from residential streets and improving safety for locals.
It’s estimated that the 200,000 motorists that use the West Gate Freeway daily will be able to save 20 minutes of travel time for some journeys from the west.
The project will also help to support surrounding transport infrastructure for the growing regions of Ballarat, Geelong and Wyndham.
More than 6000 workers have helped deliver the West Gate Tunnel Project including 62 million hours on site.
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