Question marks loom over the benefits of the Western Distributor to inner-west residents, as the state government promises to ramp up consultation with the community.
The $5.5 billion project will widen the West Gate Freeway, create a tunnel under Yarraville and provide an extra Maribyrnong River crossing and elevated road along Footscray Road.
The Victoria Greens have analysed a business case presented by the state government to Canberra in the hope of attracting a third of the required funds. Their analysis found benefits to residents had been overstated, while the likely impacts on health, amenity and open space were downplayed.
Western suburbs Greens MP Colleen Hartland said the true costs of the Western Distributor were not reflected in the cost- benefit ratio.
“The new tolls for this road and extended tolls for City Link are a significant cost to the community yet they are not factored into the cost-benefit ratio for the project,” Ms Hartland said.
“This is a massively expensive project at about $5.5 billion. The main benefit of the project is supposed to be travel time savings, but the government’s own report acknowledges the road will be at capacity by 2031, just nine years after it is built.”
Ms Hartland said factoring in the fully funded port rail shuttle project, which could take about 3500 trucks off the road network, would substantially cut the claimed benefits of the Western Distributor to the port and freight sectors.
She added that overlooked costs to liveability included the losses of green space in Stony Creek and amenity where new flyovers and bridges were built, and greenhouse gas emission increases.
Acting Planning Minister Tim Pallas said the state government had been “open and transparent” by releasing the business case.
He said consultation with residents, council and industry would begin next month to detail the scope of the project’s environment effects statement.
“We’re getting on with the Western Distributor project, which will create thousands of new jobs, be an alternative to the West Gate Bridge and provide motorists with immediate travel time savings of up to 20 minutes a day.”
