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The report, commissioned by the Maribyrnong Truck Action Group, suggested the tunnel’s twin ventilation stacks prioritised sleek design over good engineering and would not prevent noxious fumes from reaching nearby homes.
The group argued the West Gate Tunnel – which the Victorian government partnered with Transurban to deliver — should not operate without pollution filters being installed on the 50-metre vents that sit next to the underground tollway in Yarraville and Altona North.
In response, Roads Minister Melissa Horne released a statement on Wednesday claiming the article was “disinformation”.
She said independent assessments had found that the project would improve air quality in the inner west and that the Health Department concluded the potential impacts from tunnel emissions would be a low risk to human health.
Horne confirmed on Sunday that the new report, by consultancy Synergetics, had now been provided to the government and the Environment Protection Authority.
“I know [the EPA] are going through their independent processes to be able to ensure that what they found … back in 2016 is accurately reflected in the build now,” she said.
The new Wurundjeri Way extension, which links to Dynon Road. Credit: Chris Hopkins
“Nowhere in all of Australia has ventilation stacks that have got filtration.
“So what we do is we take the advice of our independent chief scientist and, of course, we respond to that accordingly, and that is the way that we have built this project.”
Parts of the West Gate Tunnel Project will be open to the public on Sunday, November 16, when people are invited to run or walk through the tunnel as part of a “discovery day” – “a once-in-a-generation opportunity to explore the tunnel before it opens to traffic in December”, according to the government.
Air quality data will be published monthly on the EPA website from the end of November.
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