West Gate Freeway
Template: Infobox several high-level roads / maintenance / AU -AM
States:
Victoria
The West Gate Freeway (formerly Lower Yarra Freeway) is an urban motorway in Melbourne in the south of the Australian state of Victoria. It connects the City Link in South Melbourne with the western part of the Princes Freeway and the Western Ring Road in Altona North. He represents an important link between the city center of Melbourne and Geelong
Most spectacular and most famous part of the West Gate Freeway, the West Gate Bridge on the lower reaches of the Yarra River.
- 2.1 expansion state
- 2.2 Major intersections and connections
- 2.3 Map of Freeway
History
The freeway was originally mentioned plan of 1969 as the Freeway Corridor F9 in Melbourne Transportation. It was built in the late 1960s and 1971 to traffic. It extended the time from the Melbourne Road and Williamstown Road in Spotswood immediately west of the mouth of the Yarra River to the intersection with the Princes Highway and the Little Boundary Road in Altona North and was numbered as F82. The Yarra River could then be overcome only by a ferry, which was of course frequented much more common after the completion of the Lower Yarra Freeway ..
The construction of the West Gate Bridge began shortly before the opening of this Freeways.und could they took in operation due to the partial collapse in 1978 despite the delay. Thus, the freeway was extended to the southwest corner of downtown Melbourne. At that time the name was changed in Westgate Freeway 'to remember his complete opening. From 16 November 1978 to 29 November 1985 for the use of the West Gate Bridge a toll was due. The toll stations were on the city side of the bridge, where today are the service stations. The National Highway 1, formerly of the Geelong Road ( Princes Highway West) and on the Smithfield Road, the and the King Street was Flemington Road through downtown, was passed on to the freeway and reached the Kings Way on the Rogers Street, Lorimer Street and Clarendon Street.
Because of the additional traffic, the Westgate Freeway attracted and also to improve road safety of Freeway in 1987 finally extended to the Kings Way above the intersection with Grant Street in high position. The broadening of the original four-lane freeway to six lanes west of the bridge was carried out in 1993; 2000 was followed by the widening to eight lanes. With the completion of the Western Ring Road, which connects directly to the Highway at the west end, and the City Link in the East, which connects the highway with the Monash Freeway, he also serves as a southern bypass of the city center of Melbourne.
The entire freeway was as M1 and as a tourist route T2 ( between the junction with Melbourne Road and Williamstown Road in Spotswood and Montague Street in Port Melbourne) reported
Expansion in 2008
The volume of traffic on the West Gate Freeway has steadily increased, so that eventually pass 180,000 vehicles per day the freeway. Traffic congestion, there is often at the intersections with the Montague Street and the Bolte Bridge. On 1 May 2008, the Transport Minister Tim Pallas announced details of the expansion:
- Construction of a driveway in high position from Kings Way out of town to the freeway.
- New driveways at the Montague Street.
- An additional link road from the Bolte Bridge to Freeway.
- Widening the freeway between Todd Road and Montague Street
- Construction of the junction with Montague Street
The end of 2010 the work was completed. The expansion of freeways in 2011 received the Australian Construction Achievement Award.
Course
Expansion of state
The Westgate Freeway begins at the West Gate crossing in Altona North as eight-lane freeway. He is seamlessly to the Western Ring Road ( M80 ) and the western part of the Princes Freeway (M1 ) is connected, but also grants access to the Princes Highway ( Geelong Road) ( S83 ).
Soon after crossing the Yarra River, the highway enters high position which it retains to the end. There are entrances and exits from / to the city center of Melbourne. Further east, according to the Power Street exit, the highway leading to the equipped with electronic toll enforcement Burnley Tunnel of City Link.