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| end_b = | est = 1977-1997 | through = Bulleen, Doncaster, Box Hill North | route = | former = | exits = }} The Eastern Freeway〔(M3 Eastern Freeway - Melbourne's gateway to the east ), ''Main Roads Victoria''. Retrieved on 4 September 2013.〕 is an urban freeway in eastern Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. It is one of the most important freeways in terms of commuting to the city, connecting Alexandra Parade and Hoddle Street in the inner suburbs, with EastLink tollway farther east. It consists of between three to six lanes (including the Hard Shoulder Running lane during peak periods) in each direction, also an inbound transit lane reserved for vehicles with two or more occupants during peak hours. It is the continually widest freeway in Melbourne, with 12 lanes altogether near the Hoddle Street and Alexandra Parade end. ==History== Originally designated F-19 during its construction in the early 1970s, it was supposed to be linked to the then-new Tullamarine Freeway, as well as taking traffic off the Maroondah Highway. Protests from inner Melbourne suburbs residents led it being terminated at Hoddle Street. Its initial route designation was F83 then State Route 83 and now the M3. The current incarnation was constructed in stages from 1977 to 1997: *1977 - Hoddle Street to Bulleen Road. Opened in three stages, December 1977. Hoddle Street to Chandler Highway; Chandler Highway to Burke Road; Burke Road to Bulleen Road.〔Country Roads Board Victoria. Sixty-Fifth Annual Report: for the year ended 30th June, 1978. Melbourne, Victoria: Government Printer, 1978. p. 7〕 *1982 - Bulleen Road to Doncaster Road. This 3 km section was opened 3 June 1982, by Minister for Transport, the Hon S M Crabb MP. Originally two lanes in each direction, plus emergency stopping lanes, at a cost of $A24m.〔Country Roads Board Victoria. 69th Annual Report. 1981-1982. Kew, Victoria: Country Roads Board Victoria, 1982. p. 11〕 *1997 - Doncaster Road to Springvale Road. This 7 km extension was opened to traffic in December 1997, at a cost of $A250m.〔Vicroads. Vicroads Annual Report 1997-98. Kew, Victoria: Vicroads, 1998, p. 31〕 Originally, the freeway was to terminate at the intersection of Maroondah Highway and Mount Dandenong Road in Ringwood. It was meant to connect to the Eastern Ring Road before that. Instead, the Eastern Ring Road and the last Eastern Freeway extension was merged into one project (Eastlink) and the remainder of the Eastern Freeway reservation was built into the Ringwood bypass, which opened in July 2008. The first and second stages were controversial and met much opposition due to the first being constructed through the middle of Yarra Bend Park and the second stage to Doncaster Road through parkland now named Koonung Creek Reserve. The first two stages were designed to enable the construction of the Doncaster railway line down the centre of the freeway to Bulleen Road. An extra-wide median strip, which was kept free of support pylons for over-bridges, was provided to allow for the railway. Land was also reserved from Bulleen Road to Doncaster East to extend the proposed railway line, but the plan fell out of favour in the 1980s and the land was sold. In recent years, amidst growing congestion problems and increased awareness of unsustainable methods of transport in Melbourne, there has been massive local council lobbying (by Melbourne, Yarra and Manningham) and public pressure placed on the State Government for the rail line to be constructed.〔(How to fix Melbourne's woes )〕 The final stage, completed in 2008, connected the freeway to the Ringwood Bypass and the Monash and Frankston Freeways. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Eastern Freeway (Melbourne)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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