After years of construction, disruption and debate, the West Gate Tunnel is now open, marking a major shift in how traffic moves through Melbourne’s inner west.
The twin tunnels beneath Yarraville and South Kingsville promise faster, more reliable trips between the western suburbs and the city, and a long-awaited alternative to the ageing West Gate Bridge. For many drivers, it means shaving minutes off daily commutes and avoiding one of Melbourne’s most notorious bottlenecks.
For communities in the inner west, however, the project has always been about something more fundamental: whether heavy freight trucks would finally be pushed off local streets.
The State Government says the tunnel will remove more than 9,000 trucks a day from neighbourhood roads, backed by new 24-hour truck bans on streets such as Francis Street, Somerville Road, Buckley Street, Moore Street, Hudsons Road and Blackshaws Road. These are streets lined with homes, schools, parks and shopping strips — places where diesel noise and vibration have been a daily reality for decades.
To encourage people to try the new route, the West Gate Tunnel is free to use on weekends throughout January. From February, tolls will apply, but the free weekends have already drawn curious motorists keen to see whether the promises of smoother travel stack up.
The project also brings changes beyond cars and trucks. More than 14 kilometres of new and upgraded walking and cycling paths have been delivered, stitching together long-disconnected parts of the west. Most striking is the elevated cycling “veloway” along Footscray Road, offering riders a direct, signal-free path into the city, separated from heavy traffic below. For cyclists who have long navigated hostile industrial roads, it’s a rare piece of infrastructure designed with safety front of mind.
Yet while some streets are set to become quieter, others are bracing for the opposite.
Traffic modelling linked to the project shows increased freight volumes on key connector roads, particularly Millers Road, which runs through Brooklyn and Altona North. Trucks diverted away from newly banned routes are expected to concentrate along this already busy corridor, raising concerns for residents about noise, air quality and safety.
Williamstown Road, another major artery, remains a flashpoint. While truck restrictions apply at night and on weekends, heavy vehicles are still permitted during much of the day. Locals fear this will funnel freight past homes, schools and childcare centres, creating congestion and safety risks at peak times.
For communities along these roads, the tunnel’s opening is not an end point but the beginning of a new monitoring phase — one where real-world traffic patterns, not modelling, will determine whether the project delivers a fair outcome.
The West Gate Tunnel is undoubtedly a city-shaping piece of infrastructure. It offers genuine benefits: improved cycling links, faster travel, and relief for some long-suffering streets. But it also reshapes the burden of traffic, shifting it from one neighbourhood to another.
As Melbourne’s west adjusts to this new reality, the challenge will be ensuring that the promise of fewer trucks and safer streets is felt not just on paper, but on the ground — in the places people live, walk, ride and raise their families.
Image from Creative Commons
