EastLink Tollway: Congestion Solution, or Problem?

By Feann Torr - 17/June/2008

Melbourne, Australia — The single biggest road project in Australia, the EastLink Tollway east of Melbourne will open to the public on June 29th, 2008.

It has cost $2.5 billion dollars to build and is being heralded as a revolutionary achievement, the largest road project this country has seen. 

Comprised of more than 2 million square metres of road, EastLink has more than a dozen interchanges linking it to other roads and highways and even a pair of tunnels.

EastLink will please a lot of drivers in the growing south-eastern metropolitan regions of Melbourne, but it has also been dogged by controversy.

It's developers say it will revolutionise the way urban Victorians travel and will be the cheapest tollway in Australia. It is said that it will remove much of the congestion that affects major roads in Melbourne's east by diverting trucks and other traffic to its 100km/h, super smooth non-stop highways.

Originally it was to be a toll-free road, but tolls will be charged on the road for the next 35 years, and the Victorian government has already predicted that it will gain about $62 million dollars worth of speeding fines next financial year from the more than 20 speed cameras dotted along its 39km length.

The idea of a German-style autobahn where you pay for the privilege to drive on well-maintained roads at speeds of up to 200km/h will never happen in Australia for many reasons, most of them political. Instead we pay tolls to drive on roads which are monitored by speed cameras that will result in a monetary fine and demerit points if you drive at 103km/h or more.

We truly hope that congestion is eased across the south-eastern corridor with the new tollway, but this argument has two sides.

It is expected that the new road will entice more people to drive to work. It will also result in less wear on the average car as up to 45 sets of traffic lights are avoided which lessens the strain on brakes and the engine, resulting in lower levels of wear and tear and less fuel used.

But the flip side is that more cars will be flooding into the city on a daily basis, potentially creating even more gridlock in the CBD and it's outlying suburbs.

While the new EastLink tollway may improve the journey, it will also increase the number of cars heading into the city which has its own unique ramifications.

With fuel prices skyrocketing and congestion getting worse every year - consider that around 1 million new cars hit the road every year in Australia and not nearly as many retire - and new roads like the EastLink tollway makes a lot of sense. But how long until this new road is at a standstill during the peak hour?

Here at the Motoring Channel we do a lot of driving around the Victoria - our offices are in the heart of Melbourne city - and we regularly drive many of the roads that EastLink promises to decongest. 

It should ease a lot of the traffic gnarls that plague the south-eastern corridor and will also improve travel times for those living in the southern suburbs heading up to the north country or the alpine region.

Building more roads can help in many ways, but it can also contribute to the overarching problem of traffic congestion and history will ultimately decide whether the EastLink tollway makes the lives of commuters and drivers any easier.

Tolls

As government investment in major roads wanes, the trend is for private companies to deliver huge cash injections and help build the roads we use and this is why we have tolls. The corporations and companies want to recoup their huge investments, and tolls do just that.

Like the CityLink tollway, the EastLink road uses electronic tolling, though single trip passes are offered.

Car: EastLink says that the lowest car tolls is 33 cents, while the maximum toll for a one way trip - for example from Frankston in the south to Donvale in the north - will be capped at $4.96.

Motorbike: Motorcycle tolls will also apply, and will be priced at about half the cost of car tolls: 17 cents minimum for one toll gate up to the one-way toll cap of $2.49. EastLink says "Motorcycles don't need tags and are not charged image processing fees".

Taxi: It will cost $2.28 for a trip at the north end of EastLink such as through the tunnel, and $2.15 for a trip on any south of Maroondah Highway.

Light Commercial Vehicle: These vehicle tolls range from 53 cents up to a toll cap of $7.94.

Heavy commercial Vehicle: Charged at 2.65 times the cost of car tolls, heavy commercial vehicle tolls start at 88 cents up to a toll cap of $13.16.

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