The 26-kilometre North East Link,set to carry 135,000 vehicles daily,is designed to fill this"missing link"in Melbourne’s ring road,taking thousands of trucks off congested arterial roads.
The project,which will also expand the Eastern Freeway from eight lanes to as many as 24,will have a significant environmental toll,with 182 hectares ofopen space set to be permanently lost.
Manningham mayor Paula Piccinini said that,while her council opposed the loss of open space,it was particularly crucial that the 300-year-old Bulleen river red gum was kept,because it was a local landmark and a remnant of an ancient landscape.
She said no explanation had been given by the Andrews government as to “why the road cannot go around or under the tree – and it is unclear if removing this tree is just a cost-cutting exercise”.
The tree,first acknowledged as important in a 1991 council study,is covered by a heritage overlay and is registered as a significant tree.
A plaque at its base from the former Doncaster and Templestowe councils notes its heritage value,the work that has previously gone into saving it and a plan to work with Melbourne Water to maintain it.
North East Link chief executive Duncan Elliott said the design for the project required the tree's removal but bidding builders could keep it under their plans,though he acknowledged that this would be"challenging".
The authority was aware how significant the tree was to locals and was working with specialists to collect seeds to ensure its saplings could be planted nearby,he said.
The Age asked Ms Allan what it would cost to save the tree and what options had been explored to keep it. Her spokeswoman did not answer on costs but said the government's construction team had"explored ways to save this tree"for more than 12 months.
Greg Moore,a tree expert and a former head of Melbourne University’s Burnley horticultural school,said the tree’s less-than-picturesque siting on busy Manningham Road made it all the more important to keep.
“It’s even more precious because you can see what it has survived,” he said.
“The fact that it has managed to hang in there,with all that interference with its roots system,it shows its resilience.
“It’s a splendid tree where you don’t expect to see such a splendid tree.”