West Gate Tunnel Project: What it means for North and West Melbourne

On August 28, the North and West Melbourne Association (NWMA) organised and hosted a packed community meeting at The Huddle, with locals joining in person and online. 

This meeting was the result of months (actually, years!) of NWMA advocacy to get answers about how the West Gate Tunnel Project (WGTP) will affect our neighbourhood. Presenters included representatives from Transurban, the WGTP team, and the Department of Transport.

What we learned …

The presentations provided new information about the tunnel opening and plans for local traffic management. Key takeaways included:

No local data

Roads stakeholders admitted that no traffic measurements have been taken on our local streets. The local traffic modelling that has been done is not based on actual data.

Immediate interim road closures

At the meeting, stakeholders announced “West Gate Tunnel Day 1 treatments” plans for immediate road closures and traffic changes (which have since been publicly announced by the Premier and published online. These works were met with audience outrage as they appear to prioritise funnelling cars off Dynon Rd bridge and into our suburbs, rather than delivering community safety or amenity.

TAP funding misuse

$45 million of the $100 million Transport and Amenity Program (TAP) funding has already been spent without any tangible benefits – much of it spent outside our local area, including on projects like raised tram stops on William St in the CBD. No community consultation has been undertaken, and further spending will be delayed for at least six months after the tunnel opens.

Why this matters

The TAP program was supposed to mitigate the traffic impacts of the WGTP and deliver benefits to North and West Melbourne. Instead, the money has been directed toward projects that do little to protect our community – and in some cases actively enable more WGTP traffic to flow into our neighbourhoods.

What NWMA is doing next

In response, NWMA has:

• Formally invited the City of Melbourne to attend a community meeting to explain its position on local road closures and answer community questions.
• Called on the council to commit to genuine collaboration and transparency in all WGTP-related matters, including:
• A clear public statement outlining the intent of the TAP funding;
• A full breakdown of how TAP funds have been spent and what benefits it is delivering;
• Regular, publicly available traffic monitoring and reporting;
• Ongoing direct engagement with residents and locals on decision-making.

What you can do

Sign up to NWMA mailing list to receive updates: nwma.org.au. If you are affected by the West Gate Tunnel Day 1 treatments (we all will be!) and you care about more traffic pouring onto our local roads and the misuse of TAP funding, write to the council and WGTP voicing your concerns.

NWMA will continue to advocate for transparency, accountability, and genuine community benefit from the TAP program. But it’s also vital that residents speak up – we need to raise our voices together. •