A $5.3 million cycling bridge in Melbourne's west – finished less than two years ago after almost a decade of campaigning by bike groups – could soon be knocked down to add extra car lanes to the West Gate Freeway.

The cycle bridge goes over freight railway lines running between Yarraville and Brooklyn. It opened in November 2014, when a VicRoads director, Adam Maguire, said it would help support "the growing cycling culture".

Less than two years later, the cycle bridge faces the wrecking ball to make way for a widened West Gate Freeway. Widening the freeway from eight to 12 car lanes is part of the Andrews government's Western Distributor project.

"It's farcical, it really is," said cyclist Jennifer Williams, a member of the Baywest Bicycle Users Group. Its members were among cyclists campaigning from 2006 for the crossing - coined the "Brooklyn Bridge" by lobby group Bicycle Network.