CityLink Totally Explained

Everything about Citylink totally explained

CityLink is a system of Tolled Freeways in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The company Transurban was awarded the contract to construct two new freeways—labelled the Western and Southern Links—directly linking a number of existing freeways to provide a continuous, high-capacity road route to, and around, the central business district.
CityLink comprises:

Western Link ť extended Tullamarine Freeway

Bolte Bridge ť Sound Tube
Southern Link ť Domain tunnel

Burnley tunnel ť Batman Avenue

Existing freeways

Previously, the city centre was served by four separate freeways:

The Monash Freeway (also previously known as the South Eastern Freeway, South Eastern Arterial, and Mulgrave Freeway in different sections of the existing route) which had begun approximately 2 km south-east of the city, and connects Melbourne to the outlying rural Gippsland area;

The Tullamarine Freeway which had begun approximately 5 km north-west of the city, and links Melbourne to Tullamarine Airport, and also joins the Calder Freeway, which links Melbourne to Bendigo;

The West Gate Freeway (also previously known as the Lower Yarra Freeway) which had begun near Port Melbourne, just southwest of the city, crossing the Yarra River using the West Gate Bridge and joins to both the Princes Freeway (linking to Geelong) and the Western Ring Road;

The Eastern Freeway which begins near Collingwood, passing through Melbourne's eastern and north-eastern suburbs. CityLink saw the widening and upgrading of the inner sections of the Tullamarine and Monash Freeways, as well tolls being imposed, which attracted criticism from road users.

New freeways

Western Link

The elevated Western Link extends the existing Tullamarine Freeway, lengthening it to terminate it five kilometres further south at the West Gate Freeway in Port Melbourne. It includes a new major bridge (the Bolte Bridge, named after former Premier Sir Henry Bolte) over the Yarra River in the Docklands; and a tube-like sound barrier in Flemington where the road passes close to a number of community housing towers. A short distance to the north of the sound tube, a massive sculptural work was placed, called the Melbourne International Gateway, consisting of a giant yellow beam hanging diagonally across the road (nicknamed the "Cheesestick") and a row of smaller red beams alongside the road (the "Zipper").

Southern Link

The underground Southern Link directly connects the ends of the West Gate and Monash Freeways into one continuous through-way. This link comprises the Burnley and Domain Tunnels which pass under the Royal Botanic Gardens and the Yarra River, each tunnel channelling traffic in different directions. This link also includes a connection to the CBD from the Monash Freeway over a bridge extension of Exhibition Street over the nearby railway lines.

Tolling system

There are no toll booths along the entire length of the system, so traffic flow isn't impeded.
CityLink uses a DSRC toll system called e-TAG, where an electronic transponder is mounted on the inside of the vehicles' windscreen. Gantries constructed over each carriageway record registration plates and detect the e-TAGs, and deduct toll amounts automatically from the account linked electronically to each tag. Where a tag isn't detected, the vehicle's registration is recorded using an automatic number plate recognition system and checked against a database. For infrequent use of the system one can buy a Daypass – by phone, online or at participating service stations. A Daypass can be bought in advance or afterwards (until midnight three days later). The vehicle's registered owner will be sent a fine in the mail if payment isn't made.
The system came under fire in 2003 when it was found that e-TAGs didn't warn drivers when their batteries were running low, and non-functioning batteries caused vehicles not to be detected by the toll sensors, thereby attracting additional charges and fines. CityLink has since recognised that e-TAGs have a limited lifespan and have undertaken a campaign to raise awareness among customers to contact them should their e-TAG not beep.

Interchanges

The tolled section begins on the Tullamarine Freeway / south of Pascoe Vale Road/Bell Street interchange in Strathmore. Interchanges on the tolled section of the Tullamarine Freeway are:

Moreland Road, Coburg: city-bound only

Ormond Road/Brunswick Road, Brunswick: out-bound only

Mt. Alexander Road, Flemington: out-bound only The freeway then officially becomes the Citylink "Western Link":

Racecourse Road, Flemington: city-bound only

Dynon Road, Kensington: out-bound only

Footscray Road Docklands: bi-directional

West Gate Freeway /, Port Melbourne: bi-directional The Western Link ends in a junction with the West Gate Freeway, which isn't tolled. The West Gate follows west to cross the Yarra over the West Gate Bridge, and also east:

Montague Street,, Port Melbourne: bi-directional

Kings Way /, South Melbourne: out-bound only (limited)

Power/Sturt Streets, South Melbourne: bi-directional (limited) The freeway then officially becomes the Citylink "Southern Link":
The West Gate Freeway then flows into the tolled tunnels: the east-bound Burnley Tunnel (resurfacing at the Barkly Avenue exit on the Monash Freeway), and the west-bound Domain tunnel (travelling under Batman Avenue on the Monash Freeway). Interchanges on the tolled section of the Monash Freeway are:

Batman Avenue, Richmond: city-bound only

Punt Road (Boulton Parade/Harcourt Parade), Richmond: out-bound only (limited)

Church Street, Richmond: eastbound exit ramp only

Barkly Avenue, Burnley: city-bound only

Yarra Boulevard, Burnley: out-bound only

Toorak Road, Kooyong: bi-directional The Southern Link continues on as the untolled Monash Freeway, eventually ending as the Princes Freeway 45km later, 5km west of Pakenham.

Controversies

As part of the development of CityLink, existing roads were upgraded and expanded, and tolling points were added. Toll charges now apply to the Monash Freeway (between Toorak Road and Punt Road) and the Tullamarine Freeway (south of Bulla Road). Some people saw this as 'free' roads being taken away.

Some nearby roads were altered to restrict rat-runs; to stop people using neighbourhood back streets as short cuts to avoid the toll. Some people have viewed this as local councils 'forcing' people to use CityLink.

CityLink account holders can, if they make multiple trips in a day, pay more to use the road than a casual user. A 24 hour Pass, for example, is charged at a flat rate, but an account holder pays per-trip. If an account holder makes multiple trips in a single day, they may pay more than a pass customer would. However, CityLink recognises this and account customers can remove their e-TAG device and buy a pass for the day - just like casual customers. However there's a limit to the number of passes that can be bought each 12 months.

The contract between the Government and CityLink's owner Transurban has protections for both parties. One of these is the ability for Transurban to make a claim against the State Government if the State Government does something that reduces the number of cars that could use CityLink. In 2001 Transurban commenced legal proceedings against the State of Victoria over the construction of Wurundjeri Way through the Melbourne Docklands. It was alleged that this 'free' road was competing with CityLink and causing it to earn less revenue. This can potentially also be applied if the capacity of other roads or rail routes parallel to CityLink are expanded.

CityLink received negative media coverage when it was wrongly claimed that CityLink account holders' credit card details were stored on Transurban's public webserver and that someone had hacked into the system and stolen tens of thousands of customers details. Customer details were stolen, not by a hacker via the web, but by a former employee who had had misused access to the secure IT systems..

The two CityLink tunnels have regularly featured as discussion points on talkback radio, firstly for air quality. In the early days of operation, the air quality in the tunnels appeared smoggy. CityLink worked a way around the problem by adjusting the venting system which improved quality and dispersed exhaust fumes more effectively. The second issue was regarding the use of massive quantities of fresh drinking water pumped into the system to stabilise the tunnel environs. After some time, CityLink sought and obtained approval from the State Government to build a water recycling plant which meant they could rely primarily on recycled, and not drinking, water. Further Information

Get more info on 'Citylink'.

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