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Tullamarine Freeway & CityLink (Metropolitan Route 43)

Statistics:

• Length: 23 km
• Northern Terminus: Airport Drive, Melbourne Drive 1 and Sunbury Road (C743) at Melbourne Airport
• Southern Terminus: West Gate Freeway (M1) at Port Melbourne
• Suburbs, Towns & Localities Along The Route: Melbourne Airport, Westmeadows, Tullamarine, Gladstone Park, Gowanbrae, Airport West, Essendon Fields, Essendon North, Strathmore, Pascoe Vale, Pascoe Vale South, Brunswick West, Moonee Ponds, Ascot Vale, Travancore, Parkville, Flemington, Kensington, North Melbourne, West Melbourne, Docklands and Port Melbourne

Route Numbering:

• Current:
• Former: 1
• Multiplexes:
• Road Authority Internal Classification: Freeway #1810 (Tullamarine Fwy) / Freeway #1999 (CityLink) 1
• Forthcoming Alphanumeric: M2 1

General Information:

Metropolitan Route 43 is located in the western and inner western suburbs of Melbourne and connects the Melbourne CBD with Melbourne Airport in the city's northwest. It's a full freeway route and partially tolled, using passes and e-tags, from Pascoe Vale to Port Melbourne.

The early incarnation of the Tullamarine Fwy prior to 1970 was Lancefield Road, skirting the western edge of Essendon Airport. 1

MR43 originally extended up Sunbury Rd to Sunbury, through the town to Gap Rd, terminating at the Calder Fwy. 2

Multiplexes along the route include:

• Metropolitan Route 40 (along Tullamarine Fwy), for 3 km from Essendon Fields to Strathmore

History:

• 1964: Work begins in sections on the route around Essendon Aiport (known as Lancefield Rd)1
• 1968: Construction of the Tullamarine Fwy from Essendon Airport to Melbourne Airport 1
• 1970: Construction of Tullamarine Fwy from Flemington Rd to Essendon Airport (Calder Hwy Interchange) 1
• 1972: Connection of the Tullamarine Fwy to the then newly built Calder Fwy was opened 1
• 1976: English Street interchange at Airport West / Essendon Fields constructed 1
• 1979: Tullamarine Fwy between Essendon Airport and Calder Fwy upgraded to freeway standards 1
• 1989: Introduction of Metropolitan Route 43 1
• May 1996: Construction begins on CityLink 3
• 15 August 1999: The Western Link section of CityLink and upgraded Tullamarine Fwy (to 8 lanes) between Bulla Road and Flemington Road opened to traffic 3
• 8 October 2006: Stage 1 of the Tullamarine Fwy / Calder Fwy interchange upgrade opens to traffic 4

1 Viseth Uch
2 VicRoads, CityLink Project Overview
3 BJ Winzer
4 Media Release, Premiers Office, First Lanes Open To Help Free The Tulla-Calder Tangle