Linking Melbourne’s freeway network via the North East Link
At a glance
North East Link is part of Victoria’s Big Build and aims to change the way people move around Melbourne. The program of works involves three major road projects: the 6.5km North East Link tunnels, as well as upgrades to the Eastern Freeway and the M80 Ring Road.
The challenge
We were appointed by North East Link Program as technical advisors to prepare the reference design and gain planning approvals for Victoria’s priority road infrastructure project – a $26 billion new freeway connecting the missing link in Melbourne’s orbital ring road.
Our team was engaged to provide advice across disciplines including engineering, urban and landscape design services, strategic advice and technical specialist services to support the Environment Effects Statement (EES) – Victoria’s most stringent planning and approvals process – as well as communication and stakeholder engagement.
Our response
As technical advisors on this major project, our people have been embedded directly within the North East Link Program’s office and sites as a fully integrated part of the team. Our services have spanned multiple disciplines to provide a holistic solution that aims to deliver lasting community benefit for the growing population of Melbourne. These services have included:
Engineering, urban and landscape design services
- 16 kilometres of new freeway including Victoria’s longest road tunnel at over 6 kilometres
- About 10 kilometres of upgrades to existing Eastern Freeway
- Doncaster Busway – Victoria’s first dedicated busway
- About 25 kilometres of new and upgraded walking and cycling paths
- Development of the Urban Design Strategy to guide the final designs
- Extensive geotechnical, contamination and groundwater investigations across the project corridor
- Extensive service proving, utility investigations and relocation designs for early works packages
- Detailed design of the $69 million Bulleen Park and Ride facility
- Detailed design of sporting facilities and pavilions at Ford Park, Binnak Park, Templestowe Road soccer facility, Veneto Club and Bulleen Park Ovals.
Strategic advice and technical specialist services
- Aboriginal cultural heritage
- Air quality
- Aboriculture
- Business
- Ecology (flora, fauna and aquatic)
- Greenhouse gas
- Ground movement
- Groundwater
- Historic heritage
- Human health
- Land contamination
- Land use planning
- Landscape and visual
- Noise
- Social and community
- Surface water
- Traffic and transport
- Vibration.
Communication and stakeholder engagement
- Development of engagement and communication strategies to support the EES process
- Digital strategy and implementation including website development and maintenance, online maps including ESRI Story Maps, social media management, online engagement tools, videos and 3D, virtual reality and augmented reality tools
- Design and implementation of community events, workshops and promotional events
- Landowner and business engagement regarding potential acquisitions and impacts
- Design and implementation of community liaison groups and technical reference groups including a cycling and walking group – a first for a major transport project in Victoria.
The impact
With our shared vision of high-quality urban transport, we have become trusted partners for North East Link Program, helping them to deliver a highly complex project within tight deadlines.
By adopting a collaborative and transparent mindset, we have been able to share more detail than ever before about the planning process. We’ve been able to bring communities along the journey of selecting a corridor and using advanced technologies like augmented and virtual reality to bring 3D modelling to life, helping communities understand complex design information in simple ways.
Once complete, the North East Link will fix the missing link in Melbourne’s freeway network, taking 15,000 trucks off local roads a day and reducing travel times by up to 35 minutes.