West-Gate-Bridge

Australia’s Victorian Government has called for expressions of interest to build the initial stage of the new $500m West Gate Distributor.

Carrying trucks to the Port of Melbourne through a new road link, the West Gate Bridge will ease congestion for city bound traffic from Geelong, Ballarat and the western suburbs.

Said to be part of Project 10,000, the project will reduce road congestion, the West Gate Distributor project is set to create 10,000 regional jobs.

The project’s initial stage will involve an investment of $40m and includes widening Moreland Street, installing a new signalised intersection at Footscray Road and Moreland Street, and widening and strengthening the Shepherd Bridge over the Maribyrnong River to add additional lanes.

"Building the West Gate Distributor and removing 50 of our most dangerous and congested level crossings will make it easier for Victorians to get to work every morning."

By upgrading Footscray Road and the Shepherd Bridge bottlenecks can be avoided and the flow of traffic and the efficiency of freight will be increased, in addition to building safe, dedicated lanes for cyclists.

According to estimate, the number of commercial vehicles travelling on the West Gate Bridge is expected to double over the next 20 years.

Each day, the number of truck visits to the Swanson Dock is set to rise to 12,000.

The contract is expected to be awarded mid-year, with construction underway by the end of 2015, while planning and investigations are underway for the remaining stages of works.

Victoria premier Daniel Andrews said: "We’re getting straight to work. This project will remove 5,000 trucks a day from the West Gate Bridge.

"Building the West Gate Distributor and removing 50 of our most dangerous and congested level crossings will make it easier for Victorians to get to work every morning."

Image: The West Gate Bridge in Victoria, Australia. Photo: courtesy of Kham Tran.