One of Victoria’s largest ever urban road projects.
The West Gate Tunnel is a city-shaping project that has delivered a vital alternative to the West Gate Bridge, providing quicker and safer journeys.
The new West Gate Tunnel delivered a more efficient route for freight, with direct access to the port and local industry. The project also provided a second river crossing, rebuilt and widened the West Gate Freeway, created better connections to Melbourne and supported the travel needs of growing regional populations.
Design and construction works included widening the West Gate Freeway from eight lanes to 12 between the M80 Ring Road and Williamstown Road, and constructing a 2.8km eastbound tunnel and 4km westbound tunnel under Yarraville. The project also included three new bridges over the Maribyrnong River, and an elevated road along Footscray Road to the Port of Melbourne, CityLink and the city’s north.
The project delivered more than 14km of new and upgraded cycling and walking links to popular trails and parks, an express route to the CBD for cyclists via a 2.5km elevated veloway, and nearly nine hectares of new parks and wetlands.
- Customer
Transurban / Victorian Government - Location
Melbourne, Victoria - Specialisation
Roads & bridges
Tunnelling - Start
2016 - End
2025
“In providing an alternative route to the West Gate Bridge and direct access to the port, the project will significantly decrease traffic congestion, improve productivity, remove numerous trucks from local roads and reduce travel times for motorists,” Joe Barr, CEO John Holland
The project will ease congestion for the 200,000 cars that use the West Gate Freeway daily and create better connections to Melbourne to support the travel needs of people in Ballarat, Geelong and the Wyndham areas.
