When Infrastructure Meets Reality: The West Gate Tunnel Twenty Years On
There’s a photo doing the rounds comparing the West Gate Freeway approach in 2004 versus today, and honestly, it’s sparked some interesting reflections about what we’ve actually achieved in two decades of infrastructure development. The punchline? Still just four lanes heading onto the Bridge itself, even with all the fancy new tunnel work.
Now, before anyone jumps down my throat, I’m not saying the West Gate Tunnel project was a complete waste. Far from it, actually. But there’s something deeply frustrating about spending billions on infrastructure that, at its core, still has the same fundamental bottleneck it had twenty years ago.
The real story here isn’t about lane counts though. It’s about what happens when you let private companies like Transurban essentially write their own briefs for major public infrastructure. The entire West Gate Tunnel was an unsolicited proposal, cooked up behind closed doors. And yes, while Transurban technically “paid for it,” let’s not kid ourselves about who’s really footing the bill in the long run. Those extended toll contracts on CityLink and the Tullamarine aren’t exactly corporate charity – they’re a license to print money for decades to come.
What really gets me is the mixed bag of outcomes we’re seeing on the ground. Talk to anyone living around Yarraville, Spotswood, or Footscray, and they’ll tell you the truck bans have been transformative. The City of Maribyrnong has historically had the highest rate of asthma-related child hospital admissions in Victoria, directly linked to the constant stream of trucks rumbling through residential streets. Getting those trucks out isn’t just about convenience – it’s literally a public health issue.
But here’s where it gets messy: those trucks didn’t just disappear into thin air. They’ve simply moved to other suburban areas. Kensington is now copping what Yarraville used to deal with. We’ve essentially played a very expensive game of traffic whack-a-mole, redistributing the problem rather than solving it.
I find myself torn on this one, which probably reflects my general approach to politics and policy – appreciating the wins while being frustrated by the compromises. The tunnel genuinely works well for people who use it. The dual carriageway system has improved capacity. The inner west has cleaner air. These are real, tangible benefits that improve people’s lives.
But I can’t shake the feeling that we’ve accepted a pretty raw deal in the process. Extending toll contracts for another 10-20 years to fund this? That’s a hefty price tag that future generations will be paying. And the fundamental issue – that the Bridge itself remains a bottleneck – hasn’t changed.
The irony is that Labor cops endless flak for this project, despite it addressing a genuine need and actually delivering some real benefits. The political discourse around infrastructure in this city (and this state, and this country) has become so toxic that we can’t seem to have nuanced conversations anymore. Everything is either a complete disaster or a roaring success, with no room for “it’s complicated.”
What bothers me most is the precedent this sets. When private companies can pitch major infrastructure projects directly to government without proper public consultation or independent cost-benefit analysis, we’re essentially outsourcing urban planning to entities whose primary obligation is to their shareholders, not to the public good. Those two interests might occasionally align, but they’re far from identical.
Looking at that comparison photo, I’m reminded that progress isn’t always linear, and sometimes it’s not even clear if we’re moving forward or just sideways. The West Gate Tunnel is better than doing nothing, and the quality of life improvements for inner west residents are genuine and significant. But it’s also a case study in how we’ve normalized letting private companies shape our city’s future in ways that lock in their profits for generations.
Maybe the real lesson here is that infrastructure isn’t just about moving cars more efficiently. It’s about who gets to make decisions, who benefits, and who pays. The fact that we’re still having these conversations twenty years after that first photo was taken suggests we haven’t quite figured out the answers yet.
At least the kids in Yarraville can breathe a bit easier now. That’s something worth holding onto, even while we acknowledge all the ways this could have been done better.