Will City Link benefit Melbourne?

Echo Issue Outline (... appearing in 1999 print editions 34 and 35)

TITLE: Will City Link benefit Melbourne?

Copyright © Echo Education Services
First published in The Echo news digest and newspaper sources index.

Issue outline by J M McInerney

What they said ...
'This is going to be the most magnificent infrastructure project in this country ...'
The Victorian Premier, Mr Jeff Kennett

"If you want to ... offer critical or constructive analysis, forget it. You are just a "nit-picker", a carper without any faith'
Ewin Hannan, The Age's State Editor, commenting on what he believes is the Victorian premier's reluctance to accept criticism of CityLink

On August 15, 1999, the new 13.5km Western Link of CityLink was opened to the public. The entire freeway network is expected to be in operation by the end of the year.
From its inception the CityLink project has provoked considerable debate. The traffic problems caused by its construction have added to this.
Currently access to the Western Link is toll-free, however, this period of grace is only a trial to encourage use of the link and to enable the project's managers to ensure that their electronic tolling system is properly operational.
The debate is likely to continue once the tolls come into effect and the impacts of the link on the city, both positive and negative, become apparent.

Background
Melbourne City Link is a $2 billion privately-funded tollroad project connecting three of the city's major freeways.
The project is in two parts: the Western Link, which connects the Tullamarine Freeway to the West Gate Freeway; and the Southern Link, which connects the West Gate Freeway to the Monash (formerly South Eastern) Freeway.
Western Link comprises a substantial upgrade to the Tullamarine Freeway (to eight lanes) between Bulla Road and Flemington Road, a six-lane elevated road through West Melbourne and a connecting bridge over the Yarra River to the West Gate Freeway.
Southern Link comprises two three-lane tunnels beneath the Yarra (3.4 and 1.6 kms long) and an upgrade to the existing freeway (to five and six lanes) between the city and the city end of the Monash Freeway, near Toorak Road.
As outlined in the Melbourne City Link Act 1995, Transurban (a private developer) is required to design, build and finance City Link. Transurban will then operate and maintain City Link for 34 years, charging tolls over this period to recoup costs and generate profit.
City Link is a BOT (build-operate-transfer) scheme, also known as a BOOT (build-own-operate-transfer) scheme.
Transurban has contracted Transfield and the Obayashi Corporation of Japan to design and construct CityLink.
Transfield-Obayashi Joint Venture has sub-contracted the design and construction of the western section of City Link (Western Link) to Baulderstone Hornibrook Engineering and the supply of the electronic tolling system to Translink Systems, a company jointly owned by Transfield and Transroute of France.
Transurban has sub-contracted the ongoing operation and maintenance of City Link to Translink Operations, also owned by Transfield and Transroute.

Internet links

The Melbourne City Link Authority (MCLA) home page supplies much information on the project and the operation of the tolling system.
It can be found at http://www.citylink.vic.gov.au/pages/home.html
MCLA is a State Government agency established in 1994 to oversee the City Link project on behalf of the Victorian Government. Its functions have included land acquisition, advice on legislation, risk management, public affairs and community consultation.

The Melbourne City Link Act 1995 which sets the contractual obligations between the Victorian Government and Transurban can be found at http://www.dms.dpc.vic.gov.au/l2d/M/ACT01022/3_0.html

Another detailed source of information on City Link is the Transfield site.
Transfield is one of two firms subcontracted by Transurban to design and build City Link.
The Transfield City Link site can be found at http://www.transfield.com.au/internetsite/melbcitylink.nsf
(Please note: at the time of this outline going to print the Transurban Internet site was not operating. The Transfield site is therefore the best source of information from the developer's perspective.)

ETTM On The Web is a site providing current information on electronic toll collection and traffic management.
The site's author, Michael Kolb, is based in the United States, and the information presented is primarily American, however, there is information on relevant traffic management developments from all over the world. The site promotes electronic toll collection systems.
Its home page can be found at http://www.ettm.com/home.html
Of particular interest is its Electronic Toll Collection sub-site which describes the various technologies which comprise an ETC system. This can be found at http://www.ettm.com/etc.html
A sub-section of its News, site includes a collection of articles drawn from The Age dealing with City Link.
The lead article is titled Australia's CityLink: A Link To The Future by Sushi Das and originally published in The Age on May 27, 1999. This article is followed by thirty-three links to other City Link articles published in The Age since 1997. These can be found at http://www.ettm.com/news/aus_link_future.html

The ABC Internet site supplies a full transcript of a 7.30 Report segment dealing with City Link.
The report, which was televised on April 15, 1999, is titled Melbourne motorists greet CityLink with mixed emotions.
The report includes comments from the premier, Jeff Kennett, David Cumming of the RACV and the Victorian Opposition spokesperson for transport, Mr Peter Bachelor.
The report can be found at http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/stories/s22109.htm

The ABC Internet site also has the full transcript of a Radio National Background Briefing report on the City Link project.
The report is titled Gridlock and was broadcast on February 4, 1996.
It is very informative and wide-ranging. It has one of the best available treatments of the disadvantages of the project, considering possible shortfalls in toll revenue, civil liberty issues and noise and air pollution problems for residents in the vicinity of the project.
It can be found at http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/bbing/stories/s10777.htm

The Pacific Rim Advisory Council (PRAC) Internet site has a detailed treatment of the rationale for a number of BOT (build-operate-transfer) projects in Victoria.
One of these BOT projects is City Link. The article also looks at the Metropolitan Women's Correctional Centre - a prison project; and the Latrobe Regional Hospital.
The article is titled Recent experiences in BOT projects in Australia. It was written by Bradley Vann in April, 1998. It gives a detailed treatment of the economic efficiencies hoped for from such projects.
It can be found at http://www.prac.org/materials/1998_Taipei/AustraliaBOT.html
PRAC is a group of 27 major independent law firms from the Pacific Rim region.

Signposts is a on-line publication of the Australian Centre for Independent Journalism (ACIJ)
The ACIJ was established in 1990 by the University of Technology, Sydney and is based at its Broadway Campus. It is a non-profit organisation which aims to develop high standards of independent journalism.
In October 1996 Signposts published an article by Charlie Pahlman titled, Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) - Private investment in public projects...or just more public subsidies for the private sector?
The article criticises most of the claims usually made in favour of BOT projects.
It can be found at http://138.25.138.94/signposts/articles/Generic/Development/364.html

The Anti-Jeff Kennett Home Page, produced by Antony Anderson, has a sub-section dealing with City Link. Most of the information contained on this site is claimed to be drawn from newspaper sources, however, as it is a private site and its material is not referenced in detail it should be handled with caution.
Its primary use is as a summary of criticisms of the City Link project.
The City Link section can be found at http://www.ozemail.com.au/~stud/citylink.htm

The public relations firm, Response, has worked for the Moreland City Council.
The Moreland City Council wanted more information about the project from the Melbourne City Link Authority, greater consultation with the Authority and to increase residents' awareness of City Links' various impacts on them.
Response gives a summary of their work with the Moreland City Council at http://www.responsepr.com.au/case.htm#five

Arguments in favour of the construction of CityLink
There are three sets of arguments offered in favour of CityLink. The first relate to the advantages the road system will supposedly offer motorists; the second relate to the care Transurban claims to have taken to address environmental concerns and the third relate to the means used to fund the building of the project.
The main advantages to motorists are said to be savings in time, greater safety and reduced costs.
Transurban has suggested that CityLink will cut travel times by around 50 per cent in peak hour.
The RACV has produced a travel time study drawing on data from Transurban and the RACV's own resources.
The results apparently indicate that over all distances to be travelled CityLink offered significant reductions in travel time, frequently better than 50 per cent and that, especially for longer trips, it offered some cost savings, even when the cost of the toll was factored in.
Transurban has claimed that cutting travelling time will reduce driver frustration and, it has been suggested, also reduce the accident rate.
CityLink's supposed impact on accidents is said to be likely to come from the relatively hazard-free roadway it offers, without intersections and other blocks to traffic. It has been claimed that when the system is fully operational it will take some 80,000 vehicles a day off suburban roads where, it has been suggested, accidents are more likely to occur.
Regarding CityLink's supposed financial advantages, it has been claimed that the system will reduce the stop-start quality which is currently a feature of city driving. This, it is argued, will cut fuel bills and reduce wear and tear on vehicles.
It has further been suggested that it will benefit businesses transporting goods because it will allow for quicker and so more deliveries in a given period.
It has also been claimed that CityLink will have environmental advantages.
The principal environmental advantage that has been claimed for CityLink is that reduced fuel use and less stop-start driving will lessen air pollution through exhaust emissions. CityLink has claimed that lead pollution, in particular, will be reduced.
With regard to claims that those living near CityLink's ventilation stacks would be subject to dangerously high pollution levels, Transurban has noted that the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has said that these ventilation stacks would not pose a significant health risk for nearby residents.
Transurban has further noted that though it has not installed air cleansers in the stacks, it has allowed room for them to be installed should later regulations require it.
Transurban have also noted that they have attempted to reduce any possible risk to people living near the ventilation stacks by lobbying the City of Yarra to prohibit the building of high-rises near the vent stack.
Further, with regard to environmental impact, Transurban have claimed that their landscaping and planting program will add significantly to Melbourne's tree numbers.
Transurban has claimed that it will be the biggest landscaping project in the southern hemisphere.
Transurban have also noted that it went to considerable expense to preserve city elm trees that were in the path of CityLink.
Transurban has also noted the measures it has taken to reduce noise pollution from the CityLink network.
Sound walls have been built along much of the length of CityLink and a 300-metre sound tube encases the elevated section of the tollway between Mount Alexander Road and Racecourse Road.
The tube is intended to prevent traffic noise rising above the 63-decibel limit set by the State Government.
From the point of view of visual pollution, Transurban intends to landscape both sides of all sound walls to give them a more attractive appearance. Transurban has further noted that, subject to local council approval, murals could be placed on the residential side of sound walls.
Transurban has also drawn attention to the steps it will take to prevent further ground subsidence in the vicinity of the underground tunnels.
Water seepage into CityLink's tunnels has altered the water table with the result that the area around the Yarra River between St Kilda and Punt Road subsided by up to 230 millimetres during the construction of the Burnley and Domain Tunnel.
CityLink has addressed this problem by pumping 'recharge' water into areas affected. This 'recharging' will have to continue for the life of the CityLink tunnels.
Dr Bill Bamford, associate professor in civil and environmental engineering at Melbourne University, has said that the CityLink companies have acted responsibly by recharging ground water.
`It's better to keep a steady trickle of water going in so that there's absolutely no way they can be accused of negligently turning their back on the project and walking away from it.'
The final set of arguments offered in favour of CityLink relate to the means used to finance the project.
CityLink is a BOT project. The Transurban group will Build-Operate-Transfer the project.
This means that Transurban bears the expenses of construction and then will be able to operate the road network as a tollway until 2034. Ownership of the link is then transferred back to the state government.
The moneys raised from the toll will recoup Transurban's expenses and give them a guaranteed profit.
The Victorian government has defended tolls as a means of paying for road projects.
The Victorian premier, Mr Jeff Kennett, has stated that using tolls means that future generations will escape debt.
According to this line of argument, when the government does not have to borrow money to pay for major infrastructure projects taxpayers do not have to repay that debt and its interest over succeeding decades.
The Victorian premier has also argued that tolls are a fair means of paying for a road project because they represent the user-pays principle.
Mr Kennett has said, with regard to the funding of major road projects generally, 'One of the options is to introduce a toll so that those people who use it pay for it.'
According to this line of argument, the user-pays principle is fairer than funding such projects through taxation because it does not spread the cost around among people who may never use the freeway link.
It has also been argued that the tolls are fair because they represent value for money. This point has also been made by Mr Kennett, who has claimed that drivers do not mind paying tolls so long as they got good value for money.
Transurban has argued that, even though tolls have to be paid, with fuel economies, and other savings, using CityLink will still save motorists money.
On the question of whether City Link discriminates against the poor and others who may not wish to pay tolls, it has been argued that no one will have to use the new network and so people can, if they wish, avoid paying tolls.
This point has been made by Mr Kennett, who has argued, 'No motorist will be forced to accept any contract from Transurban; no motorist will be forced to use the CityLink project; every motorist will have absolute freedom of choice to decide what he or she wishes to do in terms of their control of a motor vehicle.'
It has also been argued that reducing tolls for poorer motorists would be inappropriate.
Mr Tony Manton, a spokesperson for Transurban, has stated, 'Transurban has considered offering concessional tolls to various groups in the community. But lower tolls for one group would mean higher tolls for everyone else and a decision was made to keep tolls as low as possible for all CityLink customers.'
It has also been argued that the electronic toll collection system to be used will be efficient and save motorists the inconvenience of having to stop at toll plazas.
Regular users of the tollway need to be issued with an e-tag or transponder that will be read electronically every time their vehicle passes under a gantry on the tollway.
Users can keep their accounts with Transurban in surplus and will have their tollway use charges taken from this account.
Occasional users of the tollway can purchase a day pass or pay by twelve noon, the following day.
Fines will be imposed on those who use the system without paying.
Motorists who attempt to use the tollway without paying will be detected by an electronic surveillance system. 120 cameras will monitor the freeway network.
The surveillance system also forms part of an emergency response system which means that the cameras will also detect when a vehicle has broken down or there has been an accident and an emergency response vehicle will be sent to the incident within ten minutes of its being detected.
With regard to privacy concerns, it has also been noted that the information Transurban gathers from its surveillance, billing and electronic monitoring systems is to remain confidential.
It has been claimed that under the Melbourne City Link Act Transurban must protect cutomers' personal details. Police are not allowed access unless they are pursuing a criminal matter and are authorised to check a record.

Arguments against the construction of CityLink
There are three main sets of argument offered against the construction of CityLink.
The first relates to whether such a freeway network is actually desirable or necessary. The second relates to the supposed environmental damage caused by CityLink, while the third deals with the means used to fund the project.
The first set of criticisms of CityLink centre around whether an extended and refined freeway network offers any significant advantages to motorists and to commuters generally.
According to this line of argument, freeways are a self-defeating form of infrastructure as, it is claimed, freeway extensions inevitably attract more motorists to use them and thus increase the likelihood of increased congestion and bottlenecks.
Those who maintain this point of view argue that by the time the ownership of CityLink reverts from Transurban to the state of Victoria the network will no longer be able to deal with the volume of traffic it has helped to attract into the city.
Rachel Buchanan, in an opinion published in The Age on August 12, 1999, suggested that freeways are an anachronism, drawn from a period in the 1950s and 1960s when it was believed that the answer to traffic problems was more roads.
Ms Buchanan has written, 'while cities like London are starting to realise that building new roads does not necessarily end traffic problems, Melbourne has been hacked through and burrowed under to build what is proudly described as "the world's longest privately funded road".'
Ms Buchanan concludes, 'To me, the road is truly a link to the past ...'
It has also been suggested that even in the short term the time savings that CityLink has promised motorists may not eventuate.
This point has been made by Mr Paul Mees, a University of Melbourne lecturer in transport planning and president of the Public Transport Users Association.
Mr Paul Mees has claimed that the Transurban models used in an RACV study predicting significant time savings for motorists were based on the incorrect assumption that the majority of traffic would bypass the city centre.
Mr Mees has suggested that the time saved actually travelling on the freeway would be used up trying to get through bottlenecks at CityLink exists.
Mr Peter Bachelor, the Opposition spokesperson on transport, has further argued that during the time people are adapting to new traffic patterns there would be 'traffic chaos'.
Mr Batchelor has claimed, 'CityLink will be one huge experiment ... There will be massive confusion and congestion for one to two years.'
Those who adopt the position of Mr Mees and Mr Batchelor also dispute the cost savings which it has been predicted will come to motorists through time savings.
Similarly it has been estimated that some 23 per cent of motorists will attempt to avoid the CityLink tollways.
As these motorists find alternative routes, it has been suggested, they will create significant congestion on suburban roadways, many not intended as major thoroughfares.
Moreland Mayor, Andrew Rowe, has said that he fears many drivers avoiding tolls would exit the Tullamarine Freeway at Bell Street, creating extra traffic in areas as far away as Nicholson Street or Melville and Sydney Roads.
The next set of concerns relate to the possible negative environmental impact of the CityLink project.
Opponents of the project claim that if the time and fuel savings predicted as a result of CityLink are either not achieved or not maintained then the estimated reductions in exhaust emissions will also not be realised.
There have been further concerns expressed that CityLink may actually attract greater numbers of vehicles into the city area and thus increase air pollution problems.
There have also been concerns voiced about the possible effect of the CityLink vent towers on people living near them.
City Link has two ventilation stacks - the Rooney Street stack which will draw emissions from the Burnley tunnel and the Grant Street stack which will draw emissions from the Domain and Burnley tunnels.
Citizens of the City of Yarra and Richmond have complained because Transurban has refused to fit the stacks with air cleansers. In 1997 they mounted an unsuccessful appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal in an attempt to force Transurban to fit the air cleansers.
Critics have claimed that residents living near the stacks will suffer ill effects as the stacks will release carcinogens and airborne particles from the fumes of more than 100,000 cars a day. They have rejected the Environment Protection Authority's claim that because there are already high levels of background pollution in these areas a further increase is unlikely to have a significant impact.
Opponents of the stacks have noted that residents of the City of Yarra are already among the state's most unwell, with morality rates 30 per cent higher than the rest of the state. They argue that the health of these people should not be further compromised.
Dr Gavin Fisher, a clean air expert and scientist with the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research in New Zealand, has expressed concern about the probable effects of the stacks.
Dr Fisher has also noted that at least 15 international freeways have installed air-cleansing technology to remove up to 90 per cent of the dangerous particles.
It has been noted that even Transurban has recommended that the City of Yarra prohibit the building of high-rise apartments near the vent stack. Transurban has conceded that 'the tunnel air emitted though the stack will be unbreathable.'
Transurban has been criticised for not being prepared to spend the four to six million dollars it would cost to install cleansing equipment in the stacks.
The Opposition spokesperson on health, Mr John Thwaites, has accused the Government of sacrificing people's health for the CityLink project.
It has also been claimed that the landscaping and tree planting projects being completed by Transurban are essentially cosmetic and will have negligible effect on the air pollution associated with freeway use.
Ms Bronwen Machin, from Environment Victoria, has claimed, 'It's like putting flowers in a prison cell window - it's a big tease.'
Ms Machin has further claimed that the landscaping project was meant to make the drive more pleasant, thereby attracting more motorists and generating more tolls. She suggested that any possible environmental impact was a secondary consideration.
There has also been concern expressed about the impact the Domain and Burnley tunnels will have on the water table in surrounding areas and about the subsidence which has already resulted from water seepage into the tunnels.
It has been noted that the area around the Yarra River between St Kilda Road and Punt Road had subsided by up to 230 millimetres during the construction of the Burnley and Domain tunnels. It has also been noted that the beds of the river and of the Royal Botanic Gardens lake have been lowered.
The Swan Street bridge has been affected and it will need to be jacked up so that its bearings can be reset.
CityLink has agreed that in order to prevent subsidence around the tunnel entrance at South Melbourne it will 'recharge' the water table for the life of the project. It has been indicated that this recharge water will need to be pumped into the ground at the rate of some three to four litres a second or 100 million litres a year.
There has been concern expressed both about current and future damage due to subsidence and about the large amounts of water which will have to be used to top up the water table in affected areas.
There has also been concern expressed about the visual pollution associated with CityLink.
Those who live in suburbs that have been cut through by the freeways and their concrete sound walls have complained of the unsightliness of the project.
Some families have complained that the sound barrier for the freeway will be five metres from their back windows.
Ms Ambrus, whose home has been affected in this manner, has claimed, 'If you look through the window the only thing you will see is a huge grey wall.'
Those living in close proximity to the freeway sound barriers have also complained that the value of their properties has declined by between 20 and 30 per cent.
Real estate agents have estimated that properties along the Tullamarine Freeway have fallen in value by as much as 30 per cent.
There is also criticism that Transurban has paid no compensation to homeowners whose properties have lost value as a result of the freeways.
Finally there have been criticisms of the manner in which the scheme has been funded.
There has been criticism that it is inappropriate to give over ownership of a public facility, such as a freeway network, to a private consortium.
The concern appears to be that when private companies own such facilities they are likely to be less responsive to customer complaints than are governments who regularly have to face elections.
It has been argued, particularly, that when private companies are given a virtual monopoly in the supply of a service, they may well be insensitive to customer needs.
This point has been made by Kenneth Davidson, writing in The Age.
Kenneth Davidson has noted that the Melbourne City Link Act provides for compensation to be paid to Transurban should any new, competing roads be built. Transurban is also to be compensated if returns from the tollways are jeopardised in other ways.
The argument appears to be that the prospect of such compensation reduces Transurban's incentive to keep tollway users satisfied.
It has also been noted that many motorists will not have a genuine choice as to whether or not they use CityLink.
This point has also been made by Kenneth Davidson who has noted that the Melbourne City Link Act requires the Government to downgrade Footscray Road, Boundary Road and Alexander Avenue, to remove clearways from Toorak Road and to close Batman Avenue and Batman Bridge, because all compete with CityLink.
Such arrangements, it has been suggested, further reduce Transurban's need to respond to user demands as Transurban has, what some consider, a virtually captive market.
On the question of tolls it has been argued that as motorists pay petrol tax to develop and maintain roadways they should not have to pay again via a toll.
The RACV has used this argument to oppose further tollways for Victoria. A spokesperson for RACV has argued that it would be inappropriate to require motorists to pay another toll for improved roadways when they already pay 43 per cent petrol tax for this purpose.
Concern has also been expressed that the terms of the Melbourne City Link Act allow Transurban to increase tollway rates by as much as 4.5 per cent a year. If such increases are imposed projections indicate that the cost of tolls could become excessive.
There are also those who argue that the tollway discriminates against low income earners as they have to pay at the same rate as the wealthy.
Related to this it has been argued that with road downgrades required under the Melbourne City Link Act and suburbs considering roundabouts and other blocks to restrict motorists seeking alternate routes, many motorists will be obliged to pay the toll whether they can afford it or not.
It has also been suggested that both the $100 fine imposed on those who use the tollway without paying and the $25 administrative charge that can be imposed on those with a prepaid e-tag account are excessive.
Finally, a series of billing and e-tag allocation errors made in the early days of establishing e-tag accounts have led some critics to query whether Transurban's electronic tolling system is adequate.

Further implications
It remains to be seen both how well CityLink will address Melbourne's traffic problems and what the spill-over effects will be with regard to traffic density along alternate routes. At this point it is too early to know whether, as predicted, some 80 per cent of motorists travelling to or around the city will in fact use CityLink.
It also remains to be seen both what price rises tollway users will ultimately face and how efficient the electronic tolling system will prove to be.
Some of the environmental concerns raised by the project remain an issue. In particular it is to be hoped that further pressure can successfully be brought to bear on Transurban to install air-cleansing technology in each of the ventilation stacks that are part of CityLink.
At the moment, while the Western Link can be used without charge and travel times are reduced, public response to the tollway appears to be almost completely favourable.
There is the quite real possibility that build-operate-transfer arrangements will be made with private consortiums for other major road projects. The Victorian premier, Mr Kennett, has already indicated his readiness to have further projects funded as tollways.
Given that the current government is generally seen as highly likely to be re-elected further Victorian tollways may well eventuate. There is unlikely to be a protest vote against them when tolls will not be applied until after the election.

Sources
The Age
15/1/99 page 7 news item by Sian Watkins, 'A towering beacon for the arts, or just a big smelly pipe?'
22/1/99 page 4 news item by Sushi Das, 'Travelling by tube - CityLink-style'
27/1/99 page 13 comment by Joe Rollo, 'The vision of a great city gateway unfolds'
29/1/99 page 6 news item by Sushi Das, 'Doubt cast on time and cost savings of CityLink'
29/1/99 page 6 news item by Sushi Das, 'Window dressing or a greener Tullamarine freeway? You decide'
31/1/99 page 1 news item by Tania Ewing, 'Tunnel to pollute a sick suburb'
14/2/99 page 3 news item by Sushi Das, 'CityLink toll fines tipped to hit $10'
18/2/99 page 2 news item by Sandra McKay, 'Kennett open to more toll roads'
7/3/99 page 7 news item by Royce Millar, 'CityLink sinks South Melbourne'
8/3/99 page 15 comment by Kenneth Davidson, 'Private rip-offs: who can compete?'
12/4/99 page 13 comment by David Langsam, 'I've got an e-tag, so leave me alone'
18/4/99 page 11 analysis by Sushi Das, 'CityLink - the ultimate user's guide'
18/4/99 page 11 analysis by Sushi Das, 'Two sides to the road: extolling the virtues, driving home the costs'
18/4/99 page 22 editorial, 'Trouble on the tollway'
9/5/99 page 24 editorial, 'The Premier and the missing link'
11/5/99 page 11 news item by Gabrielle Costa, 'Road tolls acceptable, says Kennett'
27/5/99 page 5 news item by Sushi Das, 'Take care drivers, City Link is watching'
2/6/99 page 8 news item by Sushi Das, 'City Link tolls will hit poor: claim'
12/8/99 page 17 comment by Rachel Buchanan, 'City Link, driving us back to the future'
16/8/99 page 3 comment by Alan Attwood, 'At last, the great City Link road show is up and running'
21/8/99 page 9 comment by Ewin Hannan, 'Be jubilant or be silent: the road under Kennett'

The Australian
16/4/99 page 6 news item by Misha Schubert, 'CityLink $25 fee "highway robbery"'
21/8/99 page 20 editorial, 'Technology in the driver's seat'

The Herald Sun
29/1/99 page 6 news item, 'Save on time, money'
31/1/99 page 13 news item by Mark Phillips, 'Views vanish on Link route'
31/1/99 page 46 analysis by Mark Phillips, 'Walls have fears'
24/2/99 page 8 news item by Kylie Hansen, 'CityLink escape roads may shut'
17/5/99 page 3 news item by Genevieve Lally, 'Council blocks escape routes'
17/5/99 page 22 news item by Genevieve Lally, 'High-tech nerve centre to monitor CityLink'
13/8/99 page 1 news item by Genevieve Lally, 'CityLink's big start: 2 free weeks'
13/8/99 page 4 news item by Genevieve Lally, 'CityLink bungle on credit details'
16/8/99 page 1 news item by Genevieve Lally, 'Road Rave'
16/8/99 page 7 comment by John Hamilton, 'Leisurely drive and a dream comes true'
16/8/99 page 7 news item by Mark Buttler & Philip Cullen, 'Experts give thumbs up'