To keep up with the increasing number of cars on the roads of Melbourne extra freeways were developed linking Melbourne's city center with major freeways around the city.
Melbourne's Citylink is a busy road system, but if you have to get from one end of the city to the other it is definitely the quickest way to get there.
Where all the other main roads have traffic lights every few hundred metres and take you through the suburbs, Citylink Melbourne helps you to circumvent all that and get you there quicker.
You have to keep in mind though that Citylink Melbourne is a toll way. The toll way is electronically monitored, so no toll booths or anything. When you are driving on the Citylink keep an eye on the billboards by the side of the road and write down the telephone number of Citylink. You have got 72 hours to call the number and pay via credit card. It is an easy thing to forget about, so you'd better call them straight away to avoid a big fine.
Renting a car? If you are renting the car in Melbourne you can usually get the price of the Citylink included in the rental price.
Make sure to ask how much you are paying extra for that, if you only get charged when you drive the Citylink or if you get charged per day so that you know you get the best deal. Unscrupulous car rental agents don't mind making an extra few bucks from the naive tourist!
The Eastlink, which opened up in June 2008 is another big road improvement which connects Frankston and Dandenong to Ringwood and which makes what used to be an hour's drive with about a hundred traffic lights into only a 30 minutes drive.
Citylink Melbourne definitely beats the other bigger roads in Melbourne with their traffic lights and which seem to be congested the whole day.
You do pay a price for that, but it saves you time and irritations.
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