National Trust supports inclusion of Eastern Freeway—Stage One in the Victorian Heritage Register


In February we made a submission of support in response to Heritage Victoria’s recommendation to include Eastern Freeway – Stage One, which includes all of the land and structures between Hoddle Street and Bulleen Road, in the Victorian Heritage Register. We support Heritage Victoria’s recommendation that the Eastern Freeway – Stage One is historically significant to the State for its clear association with the early development of freeways in Victoria, and for the prolonged and at times violent community protests that met its announcement, construction and openings. We further support the recommendation that Eastern Freeway – Stage One is a ‘fine, intact, influential and pivotal example of a freeway’.

In 2008, Gary Vines of Biosis Research Pty Ltd undertook a Historic Concrete Road Bridges Study on behalf of the National Trust with major funding from VicRoads and further financial assistance from Heritage Victoria. This study recognised the significance of the Eastern Freeway bridges as a group, finding them to be significant at the State level.

The Heritage Council will now consider all submissions received in response to the recommendation and make a final determination.

You can download our submission in full here.

Image: 1976, Belford Road Bridge, prior to the opening of the Eastern Freeway – Stage One, courtesy National Archives of Australia.

2 Comments

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  1. 1
    Rhonda Jones

    An absurd argument to give Heritage Status to this piece of road essentially scuttling any chance of implementing road widening, and improvements to western traffic flow. Your statement ‘a fine, intact, influential and pivotal example of a freeway’, is remiss in not stating it is a fine example of Gridlock which will only get worse with the merging of the ill conceived North-East link design.
    I am very unhappy to hear subscription fees to either Heritage Victoria or the National Trust have been used to fund this study.
    I am more than certain our anti East-West Link Premier will be feeling very smug with your illogical support.

  2. 2
    caroline Richardson

    I do not think this is a worthy subject . If any freeway was worthy it would be the Geelong freeway as it was built well before other freeways but I. don’t
    think freeways are of heritage status.
    This makes a mockery of the term “heritage Status”

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