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The Victorian government has announced plans to build the North East Link road project in Melbourne (Australia).

The Government announced that a AUD35 million (US$26 million) business case will be carried out in 2018, along with planning approval and tender processes. The business case will investigate the best route for the road. 

The proposed North East Link will connect the Metropolitan Ring Road and the Eastern Freeway, and outer suburbs between Greensborough and Ringwood. It is estimated that over 40% of heavy vehicle traffic will be removed from arterial roads in the north east, alleviating congestion and improving amenity for communities in the area.

The total project investment will amount to AUD10 billion (US$7.49 billion) to be funded by a mixture of government contributions and tolls.

According to the government, the North East Link road will have a construction period of about 10 years, and it is expected to be opened to traffic in the late 2020s. 

The project will be supervised by a new expert North East Link Authority, overseen by the Victorian Coordinator General, and under the same model used with the Metro Tunnel or the Western Distributor.

Final approval for the North East Link project depends on the re-election of the current government. The opposition vowed in October to build an alternative project (the East West Link) if they are returned to government. 

VTA chief executive Peter Anderson said:

“The VTA has had the North East Link as its priority road infrastructure project for many years, and has long advocated for successive state governments to build the road.”

"Transport operators had been forced to use arterial roads in the north east to traverse between the M80 and the Eastern Freeway and Eastlink. Having a seamless connection will be a huge benefit to operators, who will experience productivity and efficiency gains from not having to sit idle in traffic.”

Minister for Roads and Road Safety, Luke Donnellan, said:

"Joining the ring road is a no brainer to take thousands of cars and trucks off local streets and congested freeways – but governments have put it in the too-hard basket for decades.”