The independent agency's draft 30-year infrastructure strategy, to be released on Tuesday, makes 134 recommendations, worth around $100 billion. North East Link named as Melbourne's most urgent road building project Credit:Paul Rovere It includes a plan for a new outer metropolitan ring road, which the agency's report said would offer "sweeping benefits" around Melbourne's north and west. It said the North East Link, which road lobby groups have pushed for years, would generate returns of between $1.40 and $2.10 for every $1 invested. "North East Link provides the greatest benefit for the cost," Mr Masson said.

But the report found the East West Link toll road, famously dumped by the Andrews government at a cost of more than $1 billion, does not stack up in the short and medium term. However it said planning for the road should start soon, because it could be needed over the longer term. "We are absolutely not ruling it out," Mr Masson said, "but this is not the priority – North East Link is." Build airport rail – but not yet Credit:Jesse Marlow The report also recommends deferring construction of an airport rail line from central Melbourne, saying it will only be needed once the city's SkyBus to Tullamarine is full in 15 to 30 years. And it finds new rail lines to Monash University and Rowville, and to Doncaster, cannot be justified.

The Andrews government dumped former premier Denis Napthine's promise to build an airport rail line by 2026. The Age asked Public Transport Minister Jacinta Allan whether she now supported building an airport rail link. Ms Allan did not answer, instead listing other projects the government was progressing, including level crossing removals and the Metro Rail tunnel. Introduce peak-hour road tolls Rosanna Road, Heidelberg. But as a top priority, the report said Melbourne needed a major new transport pricing regime that hit motorists with variable tolls depending on the time of day and road congestion.

Traffic modelling work undertaken by Infrastructure Victoria found 20 per cent of trips during the morning peak were not for work or study. A variable tolling regime, potentially using GPS technology to track motorists, would cut peak traffic by about 5 per cent, which would produce an effect similar to school holiday periods. "Well designed road pricing would blow away any reduction of congestion you could get from adding other roads to the network," Mr Masson said. Make housing affordable Credit:Angela Wylie The report also identified affordable housing as one of Melbourne's gravest issues – with up to 100,000 low-income Victorians already living under "extreme financial stress".

"The consequences this has got on productivity," Mr Masson said, "are very profound." There is a need for 30,000 new affordable dwellings to be provided within the next 10 years, the report finds. New tram and train lines, and longer trains The report recommended building a new tram line to the urban development area in South Melbourne and Port Melbourne known as Fishermans Bend. And it said Melbourne's rail line should be extended to the south-east growth area of Clyde, while railway services to Melton and Wallan should be electrified.

And the government should roll out 10-carriage trains. Melbourne's existing rail car sets are six carriages. Intensify around rail and tram lines And far more apartments should be built around train stations and tram lines, the report found, particularly in Melbourne's inner and middle eastern and southern suburbs. The report compared building a house in an outer suburban area to an established area, and found building new infrastructure would cost "between two to four times more than infill" housing. The draft strategy has also made recommendations to 'unlock' brownfield sites close to established areas – such as Fisherman's Bend.

Opposition attacks government over East West Link An artist's impression of the East West Link flyover to Tullamarine Freeway (North Bound). Image supplied In April this year, Treasurer Tim Pallas said the North East Link "innately" made sense. Labor strategists view the proposal, which would cost up to $10 billion, as an antidote to claims that motorists have been let down by the cancellation of the East West Link. Loading Opposition Leader Matthew Guy attacked Premier Daniel Andrews, saying the cost of cancelling the road - now acknowledged by all sides of politics to be $1.2 billion - meant Victorians should be furious.

"Daniel Andrews said the East West Link was a dud idea," Mr Guy said. "It is the most expensive lie in Victoria's history."