When it comes to traffic congestion, Wyndham voters face a clear choice at November’s state election – the Coalition’s East West Link or Labor’s plan to divert trucks from the West Gate Bridge and remove Victoria’s 50 most dangerous level crossings, including at Cherry and Werribee streets.
After earlier declaring it would honour any East West Link contract signed before the November 27 election, Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews says the party has changed its position in light of fresh legal advice.
The reversal comes ahead of a court challenge to the East West Link to be heard in December, after the election.
Labor’s decision turns the election into a referendum on the controversial road project, the second stage of which would provide an additional major east-west river crossing.
“This election is a choice – Labor’s plan for better public transport and local roads or Denis Napthine’s $8 billion dud tunnel,” Mr Andrews said.
Labor’s bombshell came as Premier Denis Napthine visited Sunshine last week to examine geo-technical drilling under way for the western section of the project, an
$8-10 billion connection between CityLink and the Western Ring Road.
Western Metropolitan Region Liberal MP Andrew Elsbury accused western suburbs Labor MPs of reversing their earlier support for this western stage of the project.
Mr Elsbury said the west urgently needed a new cross-city link to take the pressure off the West Gate Bridge, and Labor was running a “scare campaign” despite having backed the project when it was in government.
“This is a purely political decision,” he said.
“The members of western suburbs Labor less than 18 months ago were collecting signatures on a petition for the western section to be built.”
But Tarneit MP Tim Pallas said Labor had never supported both sections of the East West Link.
Labor’s alternative proposal, the Western Distributor, involves new truck-specific ramps onto and off the West Gate Freeway.
Labor has vowed to begin work on the ramps within a first term in government.
Mr Andrews said Labor would use the savings from scrapping the East West Link on the Melbourne Metro rail project and on removing level crossings.
Mr Pallas said the Western Distributor would remove 5000 trucks from the bridge and come at a twentieth of the cost, allowing for greater investment in public transport and outer suburban arterial roads.
