Eastern Freeway

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Eastern Freeway is a Melbourne freeway linking eastern suburbs to the city.

History

Originally designated F-19 during its construction in the ealy 1970's, it was supposed to be linked to the then-new Tullamarine Freeway. Protests from inner Melbourne suburbs residents led it be terminated at Hoddle St. From there it stretches to Doncaster. The designation in the 1980's was F-83.

It is designed to take traffic off Maroondah Highway. In late 1997, it was extended to Donvale. Extensions to Ringwood are currently being done, due for completion within five years which will connect the Eastern Freeway with the new EastLink arterial, and under current plans, this section from Springvale Rd to Maroondah Hwy will be tolled with the rest of Eastlink.

The Eastern Freeway was designed with the idea of constructing a heavy-rail track down its median, and engineering provisions for this had been made, examples include the lack of support pylons for bridges crossing the freeway and the generous space afforded by the median strip. Although the plan eventually fell out of favor in the 1980's, in recent years, amidst growing congestion problems in Melbourne, the idea has been revived and public pressure has been mounting for the project to be restarted.

Interchanges

At its entrance at Hoddle St, exiting traffic causes congestion in the inner suburbs. It is currently designated Metro 83, and forms the border between a number of suburbs. Interchanges are

Springvale Rd (40), Donvale/Nunawading
Blackburn Rd (13), Doncaster East/Blackburn North -- Citybound onramps only
Middleborough Rd (23), Box Hill North/Blackburn North
Tram Rd/Station St (47), Doncaster/Box Hill North -- Eastbound onramps only
Elgar Rd, Doncaster/Mont Albert North -- Citybound onramps only
Doncaster Rd (36), Doncaster
Bulleen Rd/Thompsons Rd (42, 52), Balwyn North†
Burke Rd (17), Balwyn North -- Citybound onramps only
Chandler Highway (21), Kew
Hoddle St (29), Fitzroy

The freeway then flows into Alexandra Pde (Eastern Hwy) (83).

Speed Enforcement

The entire freeway has an 100km/h speed limit. Unlike other major Melbournian freeways, there is only one speed camera located on the freeway. It is situated at the Hoddle St/Alexandra Pde splitoff point. As the camera is located well after prominent signage encouraging motorists to "Reduce Speed Now", relatively few violations are incurred. However, Victoria Police regularly patrol the full length of the freeway, strictly enforcing its speed limit.

Eastern Freeway viewed facing the city at Sunset from the Belford Road Overpass, in Kew

See List of Melbourne freeways

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