Not many people associate a major road corridor upgrade with environmentally sustainable practices. After all, the reasoning goes, more cars on the road equals more fossil fuel use, more greenhouse gas emissions and less opportunities for cyclists and pedestrians - not to mention all the detrimental by-products of the materials used in construction such as concrete and asphalt.
Even though this is the traditional wisdom on major infrastructure projects, the Monash-CityLink-West Gate Freeway upgrade promises to change conventional thinking on the environmentally sustainable nature of large-scale road projects.
Sustainable options currently being investigated / implemented on the project include:
Carbon management: measuring greenhouse gas emissions mainly focusing on construction, demolition and office based activities that include fuel and electricity consumption, concrete and asphalt supply and reinforcement and steel provisions.
Use of recycled water: using non-potable water for construction activities wherever possible.
Stormwater harvesting: harvesting stormwater off the West Gate Bridge and other road structures, temporary stormwater harvesting from Gardiners Creek and constructing sediment basins on site to contain stormwater for re-use.
Reuse and recycle: utilising reuse and recycle materials including Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP), High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) piping, 100 per cent recycled sub base material for pavement construction.
Sustainable lighting: investigating opportunities to incorporate sustainable lighting initiatives such as energy controllers to reduce the overall energy consumption on an ongoing basis.
'E-Crete' - Substitute traditional concrete for an environmentally friendly concrete which can use 80% less CO2 and 65% less water than with Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC).
Upgraded bike/ pedestrian paths - For example, the proposed design for the Montague Street interchange provides excellent access for both pedestrians and cyclists, including a shared path on both sides of the road which will facilitate access via signalised crossings, as well as dedicated on-road cycle lanes on both sides of the road.