Monash Freeway is a freeway linking Melbourne's CBD to its southeastern suburbs and the Gippsland region.

History

Monash Freeway is an amalgamation of 2 freeways, the Mulgrave Freeway, initially designated F-81 linking Springvale Road, Mulgrave and the Princes Highway in Hallam and the South Eastern Freeway, initially designated F-80 linking Hoddle St, Richmond and Burke Rd, Glen Iris.

The Mulgrave Freeway was opened in stages from 1973, starting with the section between Springvale Road and Jacksons Road and construction moving progressively westward until reaching Warrigal Road in Chadstone. Eastward construction continued toward Dandenong and the Princes Highway. This caused traffic to be spilled onto local roads at the ends of the freeway.

Meanwhile construction on the South Eastern Freeway stalled at Burke Road, resulting in a gap between Warrigal Road and Burke Road. This section was finally constructed in the late 1980s, and the two freeways were renamed the South-Eastern Arterial. As the new section of road was constructed through residential areas, it opened with a reduced speed limit and traffic lights at Warrigal, Burke, Tooronga, and Toorak Roads. This led to heavy congestion, frequently kilometres long, on the freeway and it was dubbed the "South-Eastern Carpark".

Noise barriers and road overpasses were constructed during the 1990s, and the freeway was completed and renamed the "South Eastern Freeway" before changing name again to the current Monash Freeway, named after the Monash University and Local Government Area, and indirectly after Sir John Monash, an Australian soldier and engineer.

The freeway was extended by 7.5km in late 2003 when the Hallam Bypass was completed after 3 years of construction, connecting the Monash Freeway in Hallam to the Princes Freeway in Berwick. Previously the Monash Freeway terminated in Hallam, where it would also reduce from 3 to 2 lanes and was a notorious bottle-neck at peak hours, and became known as the South Gippsland Freeway. This extension to the Monash Freeway makes it possible to travel from Beaconsfield in the south-east of Melbourne, all the way into Corio in the north-east of Geelong - some 110km - without stopping at one set of traffic lights.

Part of the freeway, between Toorak and Punt Road is now part of the CityLink tollway, and is connected to the West Gate Freeway via the Domain and Burnley tunnels.

It is currently signed as the M1.

Interchanges

Southeastern Freeway begins as Princes Freeway flows into it at Princes Hwy.

• Princes Highway (Metro ALT1), Berwick
• Narre Warren North Road (C404), Narre Warren
• Ernst Wanke Road, Narre Warren -- Only cityside ramps
• Belgrave-Hallam Road, Hallam
• South Gippsland Freeway (M420), Hallam
• Heatherton Road (Metro 14), Endeavour Hills
• Dandenong Valley Highway (Stud Road) (Metro 9), Dandenong
  • Mitcham-Frankston Freeway, Dandenong North (completion 2008)
• Police Road/Jacksons Road, Mulgrave
• Wellington Road (Metro 18), Mulgrave
• Springvale Road, (Metro 40), Mulgrave -- Only southeastside ramps
• Frentree Gully Road (Metro 22), Glen Waverley -- Only cityside ramps
• Blackburn Road (Metro 13), Mount Waverley†
• Forster Road, Mount Waverley
• Huntingdale Road (Metro 47), Chadstone -- Only southeast side ramps
• Warrigal Highway (Warrigal Road) (Metro 15), Chadstone
• High Street (Metro 24), Glen Iris -- Only cityside ramps‡
• Burke Road (Metro 17), Glen Iris
• Burwood Highway (Toorak Road) (Metro 26), Kooyong
• Yarra Boulevard (Metro 2), Burnley -- Only southeastside ramps
• Burnley Street/Barkly Avenue, Burnley -- Only cityside ramps
• Burnley Tunnel, Citylink, Burnley -- Only southeastbound connection.
• Church Street, Cremorne -- Only southeastbound offramps
• Hoddle Highway (Punt Road) (Metro 29), Cremorne -- No citybound onramp††
• Batman Avenue, Melbourne

The road then continues into the Domain Tunnel, Citylink.

† Southeastbound onramp off adjacent England Rd ‡ Citybound onramp off adjacent Wills St †† Citybound offramp to Punt Rd via Boulton Pde

See also List of Melbourne freeways