POLITICAL pressure for construction of the east-west road link to begin in the west is mounting on both sides of State Parliament.
Western Metropolitan Liberal MP Andrew Elsbury has called on Roads Minister Terry Mulder to consider the region’s critical transport needs, spruiking the case for work on the 18-kilometre connection to start from the west end. Once constructed, the road will join the Eastern Freeway, CityLink and the Western Ring Road.
In Parliament, Mr Mulder dodged Opposition questions seeking a response to his colleague’s calls. But he told the Weekly the government had not decided which stage would be built first.
He said the matter would be considered early next year once the outcome of the state’s bid for $30 million in federal funding was known.
“The east-west link is a massive project and we need to make sure we consider the full project cost and its strategic impact on the road network, as well as considering how it might be delivered,” he said.
“Andrew Elsbury can see the benefits of construction to his constituents in the west, and is right to advocate for it to start as soon as possible.”
With planning for the western stage already finalised, Mr Elsbury said the west had the manpower to kickstart tunnelling works. “Manufacturers and engineering companies are sitting at our end of the tunnel. We’ve got the industry, we’ve got the workforce. Let’s utilise them.”
The western stage of the works would include a tunnel joining Dynon Road and Footscray Road in the Port of Melbourne precinct with Paramount Road in West Footscray. A surface road would connect Paramount Road and the Western Ring Road in Sunshine.
Tarneit Labor MP Tim Pallas backed the calls but believed the government wanted to start with the eastern end. “If they were serious about the west link, why haven’t they started yet when all planning and alignment is ready to go?”
