The East West Link has been singled out as a top priority by Australia's infrastructure umpire, bringing into question a decision by the Andrews government to spend hundreds of millions of dollars axing the contract for the road.

A landmark report by Infrastructure Australia has warned the road link – joining the Eastern Freeway to the Tullamarine Freeway – will be needed in the near future to avoid crippling congestion.

The report, ranking 93 project proposals around the nation, says if the link is not built the cost of delays inflicted by traffic snarls along the road corridor will double over the next two decades, rising from $73 million in 2011 to $144 million by 2031.

"Vehicles travelling east-west between the Eastern Freeway and CityLink are forced to navigate the congested inner city road network, or the heavily utilised M1 corridor to the south of the city," the report said. "This results in congestion and delays on Melbourne's urban road network for both passenger and freight vehicles."