page_title: West Gate Bridge
section_title: Future
hierarchical_section_title: West Gate Bridge / Future
caption_attribution_description: Melbourne, Australia: the West Gate Bridge with the Telstra Dome in the foreground.
context_page_description: The West Gate Bridge is a steel box girder cable-stayed bridge in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, spanning the Yarra River just north of its mouth into Port Phillip. It is a vital link between the inner city and Melbourne's western suburbs, with the industrial suburbs in the west, and with the city of Geelong 80 kilometres to the south-west. It is part of one of the busiest road corridors in Australia.
  The main river span is 336 metres in length, and the height above the water is 58 metres. The total length of the bridge is 2,582.6 metres. It is the fifth-longest in Australia, the longest being Melbourne's Bolte Bridge at 5 kilometres. The West Gate Bridge is twice as long as the Sydney Harbour Bridge and is one of the highest road decks in Australia, clearing the water at 58 metres, with the Sydney Harbour Bridge clearing the water at 49 metres.
  The bridge passes over Westgate Park, a large environmental and recreational reserve created during the bridge's construction, and carries up to 200,000 vehicles per day.
context_section_description: Strong growth in suburbs along the route, and increased freight through the Port of Melbourne, means that the corridor is experiencing traffic congestion during peak periods, is vulnerable to short-term interruptions, and is rapidly approaching capacity. Proposals to abate congestion by allowing more traffic have included bridge widening, a tunnel underneath the river, or adding a second deck to the bridge. Many such plans have come under fire from community groups such as the Public Transport Users Association and Environment Victoria, which advocate investment in alternative forms of transport.
  A private sector report, made public in February 2006, suggested building a companion tunnel to the West Gate Bridge under the Yarra River, made up of three separate bores to carry traffic in either direction and a freight rail line. The portals would have been north of Williamstown Road in Port Melbourne, and between Blackshaws and Melbourne roads in Altona North.
  The State Government also assessed options for the development of another east–west link in 2008. Sir Rod Eddington, Chairman of the Victorian Major Events Company and former CEO of British Airways, was to head the assessment of the future east–west connections and recommend the best way forward for public transport, road and freight travel for the entire Monash-West Gate corridor. By December 2008 the State Government announced it was planning for such a link, anticipated to be a three-kilometre road tunnel under Footscray and the Maribyrnong River. Linking Dynon and Footscray Roads in the Port of Melbourne precinct to Geelong Road in West Footscray, now known as the East-West road connection, its cost is estimated at more than $2.5 billion.
caption: The West Gate Bridge at sunset, with Docklands Stadium in the foreground
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