Expressions of Interest released for North East Link
Expressions of Interest are being called for the North East Link Project in Melbourne, making trips 40% faster for commuters.
The proposed North East Link will connect Melbourne’s freeway network between an upgraded Eastern Freeway from Springvale Road to the M80 Ring Road and is estimated to cost $16.5 billion.
It will be a safe and efficient freeway connection for 100,000 vehicles a day, slashing travel times, getting trucks off local roads and linking key growth areas in the north and south-east.
While procurement is not planned to commence until mid-2018, the North East Link Authority is seeking to commence engagement with experienced PPP providers on a range of issues to:
– Promote global participation in the project
– Refine the project procurement and delivery approach
– Identify any constraints to efficient and timely procurement of the project
– Test a number of commercial and financial matters; and
– Develop an understanding of organisations that are interested in the North East Link and have the requisite experience and capability and capacity to potentially deliver the project.
The North East Link will include:
– Expansion and upgrade of the Eastern Freeway between Springvale Road in Donvale and Bulleen Road in Bulleen. Up to seven new lanes will be added. Express lanes at major interchanges will reduce the kind of merging and weaving that leads to traffic congestion.
– Three-lane twin tunnels travelling for 5 kilometres beneath Bulleen Road, residential and sensitive environmental areas including Bolin Bolin Billabong, Banyule Flats and the Yarra River.
– Interchanges at Bulleen Road, Manningham Road, Lower Plenty Road, Grimshaw Street and the M80 Ring Road with local, toll-free connections.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said that the Ring Road connection has been talked about for decades and is now “out of the too hard basket” and underway.
“This is the biggest transport project in Victoria’s history – our state needs it and only Labor will get it done,” he said. At $16.5 billion it is the single biggest transport infrastructure investment in Victorian history. The project is expected to create around 10,000 Victorian jobs.
The route will cover 26 kilometres in all, and involve five kilometres of tunnels to minimise impacts on parks, schools and residents. The project is to start in 2020.