EastLink (Melbourne) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids EastLinkVictoria |
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| General information | |
| Type | Freeway |
| Location | Melbourne |
| Length | 39 km (24 mi) |
| Opened | 29 June 2008 |
| Maintained by | ConnectEast |
| Route number(s) | M3 (2008–present) |
| Major junctions | |
| North end |  Eastern FreewayDonvale, Melbourne |
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| South end | Frankston Freeway Seaford, Melbourne |
| Location(s) | |
| LGA(s) |
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| Major suburbs / towns | Ringwood, Wantirna, Scoresby, Rowville, Dandenong North, Keysborough, Carrum Downs, Seaford |
| Highway system | |
| Highways in Australia National Highway • Freeways in Australia Highways in Victoria |
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EastLink is a tolled section of the M3 freeway linking a large area through the eastern and south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. It is a part of Melbourne's Metropolitan Ring Road project.
EastLink is electronically tolled with no cash booths, using a system developed by SICE. The SICE Tolling System is similar to (and interoperable with) the e-TAG system used on the CityLink tollway. EastLink was opened to traffic on Sunday 29 June 2008 and in conjunction with the opening, a month-long toll-free period occurred before regular tolling commenced on 27 July 2008.
The project was constructed by a joint venture of Australian construction companies Thiess Contractors and John Holland, with tolling system contracted to SICE, and mechanical and electrical work contracted to United Group Infrastructure. The final project cost was A$2.5 billion.
Signs are at the entrances and on the tollway direct to Ringwood, Dandenong, Frankston and Doncaster.
Contents
History
The road was originally shown in the 1969 Melbourne Transportation Plan as the F35 Freeway.
The freeway has been a contentious issue, amid concerns over environmental damage and the possibility it would lead to a 'complete' metropolitan ring road. In October 1999 the Bracks Government announced that the freeway (which Labor had not promised at the election) had been scrapped. Instead the government promised to investigate a preferred route for the Rowville railway line and extend the 75 tram to Knox, of which neither have been fulfilled. However, in 'major policy about-face' the Bracks Government announced in August 2000 that they would seek federal funding for the freeway. To obtain funding the freeway would need to be classified as a road of 'national importance', despite the fact that it did not form part of the national highway grid. The 'U-turn' on the freeway was strongly criticised by opponents such as the Public Transport Users Association as it would result in public transport alternatives such as the Rowville railway line being scrapped.
In 2001, University of Melbourne academic Paul Mees launched legal action in the Federal Court seeking an injunction under section 475 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 to prevent Transport Minister Peter Batchelor and the Roads Corporation (VicRoads) from "taking any further action relating to the construction of the Scoresby freeway or the Eastern Ring Road". He alleged that the freeway would threaten migratory birds, plant species and wetlands and that the freeway was part of a larger plan to build a metropolitan ring road to Greensborough. In light of the court case, state government bureaucrats removed references to the metropolitan ring road from a draft Metropolitan Strategy.
In 2003, the Southern and Eastern Integrated Transport Authority (SEITA) was established by the Victorian Government, to manage and oversee the project on behalf of the government. SEITA was responsible for managing the process of selecting a private sector bidder.
In October 2004, SEITA awarded the contract for the design, construction, and operation of EastLink to ConnectEast, a company that was publicly listed on the ASX in November 2004. ConnectEast subsequently contracted Thiess John Holland, a group formed by the partnership of two major construction companies, to carry out the detailed design and construction of EastLink.
ConnectEast, as owner of the road, is now responsible for its day-to-day management, until the concession deed expires in [(a period of 39 years). EastLink's construction began in March 2005, and the road opened on 29 June 2008
On 27 February 2008, it was announced that the EastLink / Monash Freeway interchange would be named the "Tom Wills Interchange", after the founder of Australian rules football Tom Wills. On 24 March 2008 Tim Pallas announced that the twin tunnels would be named 'Melba' and 'Mullum Mullum', in the inbound and outbound direction, respectively.
The opening of the road on 29 June 2008 saw traffic on nearby Stud, Springvale and Blackburn Roads drop by 30% to 40%, but traffic on the Eastern Freeway rose by 5 per cent at the Burke Road intersection, and by about 1–2 per cent at Hoddle Street in the city. On average 270,868 cars, trucks and motorbikes travelled on the road every day until the tolling was introduced on 23 July. In the first week after the introduction of tolls, the average number of daily trips fell to 133,722. This was in line with estimates of a 40 to 50 per cent decline, but is a third below prospectus forecasts. The average toll per trip was $3.10 – above the estimates of $2.91.
In its first six months of operation, Eastlink made a loss of almost $93 million. In 2010 the road had to be refinanced with its traffic forecasts rewritten due to lower than expected traffic volumes.
Naming history
Over the years the project was variously referred to as the Eastern Ring Road, Scoresby Freeway, Scoresby Bypass, and Mitcham-Frankston Freeway.
On 23 March 2005, with the beginning of construction on the project, then Premier Steve Bracks announced that the road would be called EastLink, at a ceremony in Rowville. The new name was reportedly chosen because it is easier to say and apparently easier to remember and fit on the street directories.
On 27 February 2008, it was announced that the EastLink / Monash Freeway interchange would be named the "Tom Wills Interchange", after the founder of Australian rules football Tom Wills.
On 24 March 2008 Tim Pallas announced that the twin tunnels would be named 'Melba' and 'Mullum Mullum', in the inbound and outbound direction, respectively.
Exits and interchanges
| LGA | Location | km | mi | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whitehorse–Manningham boundary | Nunawading–Donvale boundary | 0.0– 1.0 |
0.0– 0.62 |
 Eastern Freeway (M3) / Springvale Road (State Route 40) – Melbourne, Donvale, Nunawading |
Northern terminus at single point urban interchange; continues west as Eastern Freeway |
| Manningham | Donvale | 2.3– 4.0 |
1.4– 2.5 |
Melba Tunnel northbound / Mullum Mullum Tunnel southbound | |
| Maroondah | Ringwood | 4.1– 5.6 |
2.5– 3.5 |
 Ringwood Bypass (State Route 62) – Ringwood, Lilydale |
Semi-directional T interchange; northbound exit via Maroondah Highway exit ramp |
 Maroondah Highway (State Route 34) – Ringwood, Lilydale, Box Hill, Mitcham |
Diamond interchange; northbound exit to Maroondah Highway westbound only | ||||
| 6.3– 7.1 |
3.9– 4.4 |
 Canterbury Road (State Route 32) – Melbourne, Montrose |
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| Knox | Wantirna | 7.8– 8.7 |
4.8– 5.4 |
 Boronia Road (State Route 36) – Boronia, Vermont |
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| Wantirna–Wantirna South boundary | 9.5– 10.4 |
5.9– 6.5 |
 Burwood Highway (State Route 26) – Melbourne, Ferntree Gully |
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| Wantirna South | 11.2– 11.1 |
7.0– 6.9 |
 High Street Road (State Route 24) – Melbourne, Ferntree Gully |
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| Scoresby | 14.2– 15.1 |
8.8– 9.4 |
 Ferntree Gully Road (State Route 22) – Ferntree Gully, Oakleigh |
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| 15.7– 16.3 |
9.8– 10.1 |
Dalmore Drive / Eastlink Outbound BP Service Centre | Southbound exit and entry only | ||
| Eastlink Inbound BP Service Centre | Northbound exit and entry only | ||||
| Rowville | 16.7– 17.6 |
10.4– 10.9 |
 Wellington Road (State Route 18) – Mulgrave, Rowville |
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| Monash | Mulgrave | 18.3 | 11.4 |  Police Road (State Route 16 west) – Springvale, Dandenong |
Southbound exit and northbound entrance |
| Greater Dandenong | Dandenong North | 18.7– 20.1 |
11.6– 12.5 |
  Monash Freeway (M1) – Melbourne, Warragul, Melbourne Airport |
Tom Wills Interchange; no northbound exit to M1 south-eastbound, no southbound entry from M1 north-westbound |
| 18.7 | 11.6 | Police Road (State Route 16 west) – Springvale, Dandenong |
Northbound exit only, via Monash Freeway exit ramp | ||
| Dandenong North–Dandenong–Noble Park–Noble Park North quadripoint | 21.6– 22.6 |
13.4– 14.0 |
 Princes Highway (Alternate National Route 1) – Melbourne, Dandenong |
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| Keysborough | 24.5 | 15.2 |  Cheltenham Road (State Route 10) – Mentone, Dandenong |
Southbound exit and northbound entrance | |
| 25.5– 26.3 |
15.8– 16.3 |
 Dandenong Bypass (State Route 49) – Keysborough, Dandenong South |
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| 26.7– 27.6 |
16.6– 17.1 |
 Greens Road (State Route 12) – Mordialloc, Narre Warren |
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| Frankston | Carrum Downs | 33.2– 34.1 |
20.6– 21.2 |
 Thompson Road (State Route 6) – Patterson Lakes, Cranbourne |
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| 36.8 | 22.9 |  Peninsula Link (M11) – Portsea |
Southbound exit to M11 south-eastbound, northbound entrance from M11 north-westbound | ||
| Seaford | 37.9 | 23.5 | Frankston Freeway (M3) / Rutherford Road – Frankston |
Southern terminus: continues as Frankston Freeway; southbound exit to and northbound entrance from Rutherford Road | |
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||
Dandenong Bypass
A 4.8 km section of the Dingley Freeway called the Dandenong Bypass (also referred to as the Dandenong Southern Bypass during its construction) was built by ConnectEast and Thiess John Holland as part of the EastLink project. The bypass opened on 9 December 2007.
Tolling
EastLink is electronically tolled via a system commercially called Breeze, entirely provided by SICE, Spanish system integrator company with broad experience in the tolling market. This system is fully interoperable with all other tollways in Australia, including the Transurban e-TAG system used on CityLink.
The system features a uniquely designed electronic vehicle tag, the "Breeze Tag", which is about half the size of the standard design of e-TAG. The Breeze system is provided by Spanish company SICE, with the Road Side Equipment, including the Breeze Tags, provided by Swedish firm Kapsch TrafficCom AB, under the PREMID brand of DSRC products.
Tolls on EastLink can be charged in three different ways:
- By having any Australian electronic tolling "tag" (such as a Breeze Tag, or Transurban's e-TAG) in the vehicle. Tolls are charged to the corresponding tag account.
- By registering a Breeze non-tag account with ConnectEast. A photograph of the number plate(s) of each vehicle is taken and matched to an account, charging the account holder the toll plus a small processing fee (23c, waived for motorcycles). Alternatively, "Access" accounts registered with CityLink may also be used in this manner. Vehicles with metalised windscreens which cannot be electronically scanned will avoid the extra fee if the owner registers it with Eastlink as such. The toll is then charged to the account by number plate recognition.
- By purchasing a "trip pass" valid for a single one-way trip on EastLink from ConnectEast either over the telephone, via the EastLink website, or from a retail outlet. Vehicle recognition for trip passes is done the same way as for non-tag accounts. Drivers can purchase multiple trip passes at once, as passes are stored until used. However, trip passes expire six months from the date of purchase.
If a driver travels on EastLink without taking any of the three actions above to pay for the toll(s) either prior to, or within three days after travel, an invoice for cost of the toll(s) plus an account processing fee will be sent to the registered vehicle's owner. If the toll invoice is not paid, an overdue notice (with an additional processing fee) is issued. If the invoice is still not paid, a fine is issued by Victoria Police.
Prices and discounts
Prices for the use of the tollway vary between sections. For cars, a one way trip between two consecutive interchanges starts from 34c for sections between Maroondah Highway and High Street Road, slightly more for the longer sections near the south of the tollway, right up to a one way trip through the tunnel section between Maroondah Highway / Ringwood Bypass and Springvale Road which costs $2.37. Lower rates apply to motorcycles while higher rates apply for some four wheel drives, some utility vehicles, buses and trucks.
Discounts are also offered to car drivers. A 20 per cent discount applies to the cost of any trip(s) taken on a Saturday or Sunday and also to one way trips between two consecutive interchanges (excluding the tunnels) on weekdays. At any time, cars will not be charged more than $5.94 for a one way trip on EastLink.
The EastLink Trail is a shared walking and cycle path that follows a similar North/South route to the EastLink project. Using it, cyclists and pedestrians are able to cycle or walk most of the distance of the road, along a 3-metre wide dedicated concrete path. Many major roads are crossed via under or over passes. Some roads, such as High Street Road (and until November 2009, Burwood Highway), require crossing the road at grade.
In wet weather, two underpasses are not trafficable as they have been built on floodways. These are the Ferntree Gully Road underpass and the Wellington Road underpass. After a medium amount of rain the underpasses flood and trail users must cross over the major roads to continue along the path. This can prove dangerous and during peak traffic times, trail users are known to have waited up to 20 minutes to safely cross the roads when the underpasses have flooded.
The Eastlink trail stops in Dandenong and does not continue. Users may take the Dandenong Creek Trail from this point which will take them to Carrum, where they will be able to join the under construction Peninsula Link trail to Frankston and when completed, Mornington.
For those using the trail, substantial deviations from EastLink must be taken into account in travel times as the shared path does not follow the freeway in many cases as existing trails were joined up to the trails specifically built during the construction of the road. This has led to some very twisty sections of trail and in some cases, detours of over 3 km from the EastLink.
Images for kids
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Eastlink in December 2009
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Constructing the EastLink bridge over Dandenong Creek, in Ringwood/Wantirna
