Major toll road milestone as first cars drive through

A costly and delay-plagued major toll road is one step closer to completion after the first cars were able to drive the length of the four-kilometre underground tunnel. Victoria's West Gate Tunnel, an alternative route to Melbourne's west, reached a major milestone on Monday with Premier Jacinta Allan and Transport Infrastructure Minister Danny Pearson driving the full length of the road for the first time. Ms Allan described the first drive through as "pretty cool". "It's a great reminder and a great motivator as to why we build these projects. When you can literally drive the 4km of a brand new tunnel, you can feel the experience of what it'll be when this tunnel is operational," she said. The tunnel is expected to remove about 9000 trucks from local streets each day and slash commute times by up to 20 minutes. Mr Pearson said the project is going to transform Melbourne's west and make it easier for people to get into the city. "The light is at the end of the tunnel on this really exciting project," he said. The proposal was announced in 2014 with a price tag of $5.5 billion and a completion date of 2023. Cost blowouts from an extension of the twin tunnels and the discovery of toxic soil pushed the total bill for taxpayers to $10.2 billion and moved back its opening to late 2025. Before the toll road opens, the tunnel has to be fitted with 1.1 million metres of electrical cables for lights, traffic management systems and asphalt across the tunnel.