The Andrews government has defended its decision to urge residents in Melbourne’s west to work from home or travel outside busy times during upcoming West Gate Tunnel works.
A major new wave of disruptions will ramp up as part of the West Gate Tunnel works, prompting the government to issue the extraordinary stay-at-home advice.
An alert to residents warns: “Consider working from home between 23 June to 9 July during rail disruptions.
“If you need to be in the city, it will be quicker to travel on Monday or Friday when there are less people on the road and public transport.
Traffic near Williamstown Road, Spotswood. Picture: Jake Nowakowski
“Consider leaving home earlier, or later from work to avoid the busiest periods.”
The travel turmoil will include the closure of two key roads:
• Dynon Rd in West Melbourne will close between Dryburgh St and the CityLink ramps in both directions from 8pm on June 16 until August 31. Motorists have been advised to allow up to 20 minutes extra for their journey and use detours such Footscray Rd; and
• The outbound entry from Geelong Rd, Brooklyn, on to the Princes Freeway will be shut until August 2.
Public Transport Minister Ben Carroll on Thursday defended the government advice for residents in Melbourne’s west to stay home during major disruptions, stating that the recommendation will make life easier for those who do not have the option to work at home.
Mr Carroll said the advice was to help reduce congestion on surrounding roads by freeing up space for those who needed to work on site.
“If you can work from home, please do work from home,” he said.
“We are trying to strike the right balance.
“That will also allow people that need to get to where they need to get to. Whether they are working on the Big Build, whether they’re working in a factory plant or a manufacturing plant to get to work in a timely and safe manner
“We also are very mindful of the inconvenience and do thank motorists, passengers and everyone out there that is affected for their patience.”
Mr Carroll said the government tried to spread disruptions out to minimise their impact but there were some times when larger shutdowns were unavoidable.
“A lot of this work is contracted and there is significant work that has to occur at the same time,” he said.
“There’s a lot of work that goes into it and a lot of co-ordination of contractors.
“Equally they need to work together on many occasions.”
Traffic near Williamstown Road due to works on the West Gate Freeway. Picture: Jake Nowakowski
Massive rail disruptions will also add to the havoc during the school holiday fortnight, from June 23 to July 9.
Trains will be replaced by buses on the Sunbury Line between Flagstaff and Sunshine or Watergardens, and also on the Werribee and Williamstown lines between Flagstaff and Newport or Williamstown.
Other planned works will result in bus replacement services being needed during the holidays on the Stony Point, Frankston, Upfield, Cranbourne and Pakenham lines.
V/Line services will also be affected, with coaches replacing trains on June 24 and 25 on parts of the Geelong, Bainrsdale and Traralgon, Swan Hill, Ballarat, Bendigo and Echuca lines.
The winter closures, revealed by the Herald Sun on May 28, come as Footscray Rd finally reopens on Thursday after months of closures in both directions.
Victorian Transport Association chief Peter Anderson said the industry was given short notice about the disruption to Dynon Rd – a vital freight route – and the impact could cost millions of dollars.
“While we support development, we don’t understand why its closure wasn’t better planned and communicated,’’ Mr Anderson said.
“It’s a closure that should have been at least a year in the planning. The consequences will be significant delays for operators moving freight in and out of the port.
“Such delays will inevitably see them fined by the stevedores for missing scheduled container delivery and collection slots, through no fault of their own. Over the six weeks, millions in revenue will be lost from fines, penalties, and a steep decline in operators’ productivity.’’
Mr Anderson said the higher costs to the transport industry would inevitably hit consumers through higher prices.