Decision on $5b freeway by December as truck curfews succeed in west
Date
June 29, 2015
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Clay Lucas
Clay Lucas
City Editor, The Age
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The decision on whether to proceed with a $5.5 billion freeway through Melbourne's west will be made by the Andrews government by December, Victoria's Roads Minister says.
The government is weighing up whether to proceed with Transurban's Western Distributor freeway and tunnel plan against its own plan – devised while in opposition – to build truck ramps onto the West Gate Bridge.
Premier Daniel Andrews in April revealed his government was considering a pitch from Transurban to build the Western Distributor.
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Transurban wants a $3 toll on cars and $13 on trucks for its proposed Western Distributor project.
In return for building the elevated freeway and tunnel under Footscray, Transurban would get all the tolls from the new road.
It would also get an extension to its lucrative CityLink contract for up to 15 years. Under the current contract, CityLink reverts to public ownership in 2035.
If it proceeds, the government would dump the plan for new truck ramps on and off the West Gate Bridge which it took to the 2014 election.
Labor's $500 million West Gate Distributor plan pledged to take 5000 trucks a day off the bridge.
Roads Minister Luke Donnellan was in Footscray on Monday to announce the result of truck curfews in Yarraville and Footscray introduced this year.
He said the government would make a decision on whether to proceed with Transurban's proposal by December.
He said the decision ultimately came down to choosing between the benefits provided by Transurban's proposed road versus Labor's West Gate Distributor plan.
"The Western Distributor is being analysed by Treasury [and] VicRoads . . . to look [at] whether we are getting fair value for money," he said. "That will be assessed against our proposal of the West Gate Distributor."
Truck curfews working in the west
Mr Donnellan said the truck curfews, which started in January in parts of Yarraville and Footscray, had resulted in a drop in freight movements on some residential streets and around schools.
"But in the long run, the only way we will properly address this [truck problem] is delivering a substantial piece of infrastructure: the West Gate Distributor or the Western Distributor. That is the only way in the long run we will provide relief to this community from the trucks," he said.
Under the curfews, there has been a marked drop in freight vehicles in busy Somerville Road during school time and at night. In all, 170 fines have been issued to truck operators for breaching curfews.
The government is also spending $600,000 on a new protective barrier at a rail bridge over Napier Street in Footscray to prevent loads coming off trucks and potentially hitting pedestrians.
Over the last five years, 43 oversized trucks have hit the bridge and many have lost their loads.
Community group welcomes changes
Maribyrnong Truck Action Group vice-president Narelle Wilson said members had been "very heartened" by the truck curfews.
The group was formed a decade ago amid growing concern over the number of trucks using residential streets in Melbourne's inner west.
"People who live in Moore Street have seen a 40 per cent drop [in truck traffic]," Ms Wilson said.
She also said the drop in truck numbers in Somerville Road had been "remarkable".
"It has made a real difference to people's lives."
However, she said the reduction in truck numbers was just a start, and only major new infrastructure like the Western Distributor or the West Gate Distributor was going to work.
"And without comprehensive truck bans as well, no infrastructure is going to work," she said.
The Napthine government brought in the truck curfews but they did not start operating until it wasin opposition.
Opposition roads spokesman Ryan Smith said the dumped East West Link project would have helped reduce truck numbers in the inner west better than any proposal being considered by Labor.
"If we hadn't got rid of that, there was a solution that would have dealt wholly with the problem, instead of a solution that is piecemeal at best," Mr Smith said.
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