The Age: Truck plan for nights, weekends Josh Gordon (May 14, 2012)

Cars and trucks do battle on the approaches to the Westgate bridge on the Westgate Freeway. Photo: James Davies

The state government will tackle a near doubling of trucks on Melbourne’s roads over the next decade by ordering the port operator to shift more freight at night and on weekends.

Port of Melbourne Corporation estimates suggest the much-touted expansion of Webb Dock, at the top of Port Phillip Bay, will meet only part of the increase in container trade over the next decade. A much larger expansion of the port’s main facilities at Swanson Dock is also on the cards, although it is likely to occur gradually.

The port, Australia’s largest, handles about 2.5 million containers a year, but this is expected to increase to more than 5 million by 2025. Part of this will be met by the $1.2 billion Webb Dock development, expected to handle 1 million to 1.3 million containers.

Port chief executive Stephen Bradford confirmed capacity at Swanson Dock would also need to almost double, from about 2.2 million containers to about 4 million.

The increase in truck traffic linked to the expansion would be dealt with by building direct ramps linking Webb Dock to the M1 in both directions and by using tendering requirements to ”bias” truck delivery times to off-peak periods, he said. Continue Reading…