Our peak hour drive starts in Champagne Rise, a quiet street in the outer eastern suburb of Chirnside Park almost 40 kilometres from Melbourne's CBD. It's nearly 7am, but the street is wide awake. At one house a man hangs up Christmas decorations as a young boy watches on, while across the road a man strides towards his car for the morning commute.

The Age departs Champagne Rise at 7.05am, on a journey to test what morning peak hour traffic is like for people who live in Melbourne's eastern suburbs. For those who drive along the Eastern Freeway and into the CBD, or beyond the CBD and up CityLink to Melbourne Airport, we are observing how the traffic moves, what are the congestion hotspots and what happens at the end of the Eastern Freeway?

For airport-bound vehicles and those heading to Flemington or nearby, what happens when three lanes become two, which then squeeze into one after crossing Royal Parade? In essence, we are examining what is the trip like right now for motorists who will benefit from the controversial multi-billion-dollar East West Link, if it is built?