The Western Freeway is one of Australia’s best performing roads for congestion, according to a new research report by leading body Austroads.
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The key link between Ballarat and Melbourne comes in as the ninth fastest in Australia and New Zealand, recording an average travel speed of 90.9km/h.
It is also ranked second for major arterial stretches into Melbourne, behind the Eastlink at 93.5km/h, but well in front of the Metropolitan Ring Road at 85.4km/h, and was second in Melbourne’s top 10 stretches during afternoon peak times.
The AustRoads Congestion and Reliability Review measures the levels of congestion across major cities in Australia and New Zealand and identifies the key causes of congestion.
The report also proposes an approach to identifying and assessing congestion interventions and overlays the key areas of focus for road and transport agency development.
Despite the Western Freeway’s obvious success, continued suburban in-fill along the western growth corridor between Melbourne and Melton is likely to see thousands more vehicles filter onto it in coming decades.
Public Transport Users Association Ballarat branch convener Ben Lever said more government investment is required to improve both public transport and freight options to ensure the road does not become clogged.
"If we want to ensure that the Western Freeway keeps flowing smoothly, the best use of government funds is to reduce demand by improving the rail lines that run parallel to the freeway,” he said.
“The Western Freeway will also have a lot of pressure placed on it in the next few years due to the big developments planned between Caroline Springs and Melton – electrification of the line to Melton will become a priority very quickly as the population booms.
“There has also been decades of under-investment in rail freight in Victoria, which has pushed more and more trucks onto our roads. If we want to transition freight onto rail and have fewer trucks on our roads, there's a strong case to be made for improving freight rail links to ports and intermodal hubs.”