The state government has been caught out fudging figures on the cost of the West Gate Distributor, Opposition Leader Matthew Guy has claimed.
Labor entered the state election promising to take 5000 trucks a day off the West Gate Bridge by building the West Gate Distributor and adding extra lanes to the West Gate Freeway.
The party’s Project 10,000 document estimated the total project cost at $400-$500million, but Roads Minister Luke Donnellan now argues this figure didn’t include the $180 million needed for the extra freeway lanes between the Western Ring Road and Williamstown Road.
Mr Donnellan said the $680 million figure given to the federal government in an infrastructure wishlist was an “aspirational” sum beyond the distributor project’s original scope.
“There was an aspirational hope that there would be extra lanes on the West Gate and that was put in the document, but the actual costings for the West Gate Distributor were between $400-500 million and the extra lanes on the West Gate were $180 million,” he said.
“This is about a federal government that wants to get its face off the front pages, playing mean, tricky and stupid games.”
But Mr Guy said the $680 million figure exposes a $180 million black hole before construction work has even begun on a project first estimated, in 2010, to cost $350 million.
“They made it very clear in their Project 10,000 policy document that they intended to add lanes to the freeway that they’re now saying was an afterthought,” Mr Guy said.
“Daniel Andrews claimed this was a ‘shovel-ready’ project, but there’s been a massive cost blow-out without a shovel in sight.”
Williamstown resident Barbara Anderson questioned the need for a second toll road when vehicles already exit at Williamstown Road on a ‘rat-run’ to avoid CityLink tolls.
“What’s the use of putting another one in if they’re not going to attract everyone who wants to get to the docks?”
The Maribyrnong Truck Action Group and trucking industry have welcomed the distributor project, due to be completed in 2017.
