FEARS that a second river crossing from the western suburbs to the CBD is at least a decade away are mounting after the state government closed a community reference group for the western end of the project.
The group was wound up two weeks ago to allow the government to focus on planning the eastern end of the East-West link project.
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LeadWest chief executive Anton Mayer and Tarneit MP Tim Pallas fear the discontinuation of the group could mean the government plans to build the eastern end first.
“While we like the concept of having a whole second corridor, the western one, we think, is the priority,” Mr Mayer said.
“The eastern project is about moving people into the CBD and there are other ways to do that. The attractiveness of the western part [of the project] was we had the problems and all the freight issues.
“The western part is more important because that is where the growth is and the transport logistics industry is increasingly located here.”
Mr Pallas said incidents like last Tuesday’s truck rollover on the West Gate Freeway highlighted the need for a second river crossing from the west.
He said it would take the government at least seven years to plan, fund and build the eastern end of East-West Link, leaving western suburbs residents with congested roads.
“[The western end] could be a decade away, assuming there are no other competing areas of funding that pushes it down the line.
“[Building the eastern end first] consigns some of the fastest growing areas of Melbourne and the south-west coast to a gridlock.”
A spokeswoman for Roads Minister Terry Mulder said the closure of the reference group did not suggest the eastern end was the government’s priority. “The East-West Link is a massive project that also needs federal money.
“As planning for the western side is largely complete, the focus is now on the section between the Tullamarine and the Eastern freeways,” she said.
