The Age: The east-west vision for a city on the move. Josh Gordon and Jason Dowling. March 31, 2012

A new road linking the Eastern Freeway to CityLink could cut a swath through inner suburbs under options being considered by the state government. While most of the new link is still expected to consist of a tunnel, the government is looking at proposals to build sections of the freeway at ground level to cut costs.

The new link is expected to be the government’s centrepiece road project.

Options being considered include building part of the freeway above ground along Alexandra Parade.

Early modelling is being done by the Linking Melbourne Authority, Victoria’s statutory authority for managing complex road projects.

The authority has also started developing a business case for the new freeway and it is believed there was a government proposal last year to divert $20 million from the VicRoads budget to undertake an engineering and geological assessment.

The state government’s submission to the federal government’s Infrastructure Australia for an initial $30 million for the project connecting the Eastern Freeway, CityLink and Western Ring Road does not mention a tunnel. Continue Reading…