Melbourne is served by a freeway network which is the earliest and the most extensive in Australia. Melbourne - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ...

History

As early Melbourne grew beyond the Hoddle Grid, the city stretched out in fingers along rail and tram lines, often with bits and pieces of open country in between. In the 1950's and 1960's, as private car ownership rose, beyond the limits of tram and rail lines, newer suburbs were built. This led to congestions between the suburbs and the CBD. The Hoddle Grid is the layout of the streets of the central business district of Melbourne, Australia. ... CBD may stand for: Central business district Convention on Biological Diversity Cannabidiol, a cannabinoid from Cannabis sativa (hemp). ...

As Melbourne extended, planners and politicians decided that the roads could no longer cope. The 1969 Melbourne Transportation Plan calls for construction of an extensive network of freeways. The Victorian government were advised by American highway planners and it sent its road engineers to US. The resulting network is probably the most extensive in Australia.

Unlike many American cities Melbourne had an extensive public transport network and opposition to the plan grew, arguing that money is better spent on public transport upgrades, particularly to areas of Melbourne poorly served by public transport such as the outer east. This led to clashes including the showdown in 1977, over the plan to build the F19 freeway through Collingwood and Fitzroy. In the fiercest battle, protesters barricaded Alexander Parade. Although the resulting Eastern Freeway was finally built, many road projects were shelved and freeway building largely went quiet until the mid 1990s. One notable exception was the South-Eastern Arterial which was constructed under the John Cain Labor government. The party had a policy of no new freeways, but the road was desperately needed to link the existing Mulgrave and South-Eastern freeways. The result was multi-lane highway with traffic lights at every major intersection. This created traffic chaos, the road being dubbed Melbourne's longest carpark. It was eventually incorporated into the Monash Freeway. Collingwood is an inner city suburb in Melbourne, Australia. ... Fitzroy is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. ... Eastern Freeway is a Melbourne freeway linking eastern suburbs to the city. ... John Cain John Cain (born 26 April 1931), Australian politician, was Labor Premier of the state of Victoria from 1982 to 1990. ... Monash Freeway is a freeway linking Melbournes CBD to its southeastern suburbs and the Gippsland region. ...

Freeway contruction was resumed in the 1990s; for example Western Ring Road, CityLink and others. These freeways joined the others into a continious and extensive network. Western Ring Road is a freeway in Melbourne connecting the northern suburbs and the western suburbs to interstate freeways. ... CityLink is a tolled freeway system in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. ...

Impacts on Melbourne

Where they were built, population growth followed, as Melburnians moved away from the crowded inner and middle suburbs to cheaper outer suburbs; for example, Monash Freeway and Mornington Peninsula Freeway led to explosive growth of population in the south east and the Mornington Peninsula.The completion of Western Ring Road spurred massive industrial growth in the western suburbs. Monash Freeway is a freeway linking Melbournes CBD to its southeastern suburbs and the Gippsland region. ... Mornington Peninsula Freeway is a Melbourne freeway linking Springvale Rd. ... The Mornington Peninsula is a peninsula located south-east of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, surrounded by Port Phillip, Western Port Bay and Bass Strait. ... Western Ring Road is a freeway in Melbourne connecting the northern suburbs and the western suburbs to interstate freeways. ...

Melburnians in general are divided over the freeways; supporters crying "progress and growth" and detractors lamenting for example, the destruction of habitats and the loss of peace and tranquility along the freeway path and at the ends where the freeway traffic is spilled onto local roads. The relative lack of spending on public transport infrastructure has also caused criticism as it is at odds with the government Melbourne 2030 agenda which promotes a more compact city with reduced dependence on cars.

Network

Here is the list of freeways that forms the Melbourne network:

• Calder Freeway, M79
• CityLink, M1/Metro 40/43
• Eastern Freeway, Metro 83
• Frankston Freeway, Metro 11
• Hume Freeway, M31
• Metropolitan Ring Road, M80
• EastLink (previously Scoresby Freeway and Mitcham-Frankston Freeway) ^
• Monash Freeway (previously known as the South-Eastern Freeway and Mulgrave Freeway), M1
• Mornington Peninsula Freeway, Metro 11
• Princes Freeway, M1
• South Gippsland Freeway, M420
• Tullamarine Freeway, Metro 40/43/State 79
• West Gate Freeway, M1
• Western Freeway, M8
• Western Ring Road, M80

^ indicates that this freeway is under construction. ! indicates that this freeway is proposed. Calder Freeway M79 is freeway linking Melbourne to Bendigo. ... CityLink is a tolled freeway system in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. ... Eastern Freeway is a Melbourne freeway linking eastern suburbs to the city. ... Mornington Peninsula Freeway is a Melbourne freeway linking Springvale Rd in Chelsea Heights and the Morooduc Highway in Frankston. ... The Hume Highway (also known as the Hume Freeway) is one of the most important roads in Australia, linking the countrys two largest cities - Sydney and Melbourne. ... Metropolitan Ring Road is a planned beltway around Melbourne consisting of Monash Freeway (formerly South Eastern Arterial) southern link of CityLink West Gate Freeway Western Ring Road outer section of the Eastern Freeway to Ringwood planned connection between Eastern Freeway and Western Ring Road planned Scoresby Freeway Its purpose is... The East-Link is a toll bridge in Dublin, Ireland, on the River Liffey. ... The Mitcham-Frankston Freeway will be a tolled freeway located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australias eastern and south-eastern suburbs. ... The Mitcham-Frankston Freeway will be a tolled freeway located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australias eastern and south-eastern suburbs. ... Monash Freeway is a freeway linking Melbournes CBD to its southeastern suburbs and the Gippsland region. ... Monash Freeway is a freeway linking Melbournes CBD to its southeastern suburbs and the Gippsland region. ... Monash Freeway is a freeway linking Melbournes CBD to its southeastern suburbs and the Gippsland region. ... Mornington Peninsula Freeway is a Melbourne freeway linking Springvale Rd. ... Princes Freeway M1 links Melbourne to Geelong on the west and Traralgon on the east. ... South Gippsland Freeway (M420) is a Melbourne freeway linking the Monash Freeway with the South Gippsland Highway and the Western Port Highway (A780). ... Tullamarine Freeway is a Melbourne freeway linking the citys international airport to the CBD. History Tullamarine Freeway is the oldest freeway in Melbourne, possibly Australia. ... West Gate Freeway is a freeway in Melbourne linking Geelong to Melbourne CBD and beyond. ... Western Freeway M8 is freeway linking Melbourne to Ballarat. ... Western Ring Road is a freeway in Melbourne connecting the northern suburbs and the western suburbs to interstate freeways. ...

See also List of Melbourne highways This is a list of highways in Melbourne, Australia. ...