UPDATE: MOTORISTS left work early to try to beat the peak hour madness after CityLink reopened the Burnley and Domain tunnels.

CityLink said vehicles started entering the tunnels about 4.45pm today.

But a VicRoads traffic management centre spokesman said while the tunnels were running quite well - with only two lanes in each tunnel opened - other major arterials were feeling the extra traffic load.

"All other arterials are a lot heavier than they would normally be because people had planned to avoid the tunnels before they reopened," he said.

"Every alternative to CityLink is heavier than usual."

He said the Westgate freeway heading towards the Burnley tunnel and the Monash freeway heading towards the Domain tunnel were both fairly light.

CityLink spokeswoman Natasha Whalley said only two lanes in each tunnel had been opened - and at a reduced speed limit.

"Transurban has been able to rectify systems in the tunnel for it to reopen and operate safely, however it will be done under managed conditions," she said.

"One lane will remain closed in each tunnel, marked with bollards and manned by Victoria Police.

"Again, Transurban apologises for this inconvenience."

But commuters travelling home faced bedlam with traffic heavy on Kings Way this afternoon.

Corey Osmond, from Seddon, said he would be running an hour late to a hospital appointment.

''I'm on my way to a hospital appointment and it's looking like I'm going to be very late as a result. I left home at 3pm to get to The Alfred at 4pm, but I'm still going to be late.

''It (the traffic) is the worst I've ever experienced.''

Seaford woman Stephanie McNaughton endured a horror journey to and from work.

"It was a nightmare. I was two and a half hours late for work. There was no warning, either," she said.

"I was stuck in the Burnley Tunnel from about 8am and it was dead still.

The 29-year-old left her Laverton workplace early but said it hadn't made a difference to her journey home.

"The traffic's absolutely killed me, it makes my blood boil."

Mt Eliza father of two Grant Maze said the congestion had delayed the family an hour on their return trip from holidaying in Halls Gap.

“It’s frustrating more than anything. I’ve got two children in the back and the longer they’re in the car, the harder it is.

Earlier, CityLink said it could not guarantee the road tunnels would be open in time for peak hour evening traffic.

VicRoads suggested commuters leave work early or stay late as traffic was expected to bring Melbourne to a standstill again this evening.

Transurban CEO Scott Charlton apologised for the delays, saying this morning's drama was triggered after a switch failed and the back-up system did not kick in.

"We don't know why both these events happened - we are hopeful but we cannot commit to have it open for peak hour," Mr Charlton told reporters earlier today.

He stressed the problem was more than "just a computer glitch".

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The system error was first detected about 4.10am. CityLink staff tried unsuccessfully to resolve it, and started to close the tunnel about 4.30am.

VicRoads spokesman Warren Gourley said CityLink's neon speed and lane-changing signs stopped working due to a technical malfunction.

The problem affected the tunnel's incident detection and safety systems that are activated in the case of an accident, Mr Gourley said. The network problem also affected the back-up system.

About 120,000 vehicles use the tunnels daily. Their closure caused widespread gridlock in peak hour morning traffic, and resulted in a number of people to miss their flights out of Tullamarine airport.

Mr Charlton would not reveal how much the drama would cost CityLink.

Traffic started moving again about 11am.

Drivers earlier told the Herald Sun the Monash Freeway was at a standstill.

Commuter Laura Miller, 26 took three hours to get to work this morning, even though she didn’t need to drive on CityLink.

Ms Miller left home in Mont Albert at 7am and arrived at work in Port Melbourne at 10am, a trip that would usually take about 30 minutes.

CityLink to refund tolls

"I’m incredibly frustrated, I understand that it was a system error but they should have a contingency plan for this. It’s not really acceptable to have these sort of delays," Ms Miller said.

The traffic was bumper-to-bumper for most of her trip as drivers clogged up other feeder roads into the city to avoid CityLink.

"There were periods of time where I wouldn’t move for five or six minutes and when you did move you’d move four or five car lengths and stop again," she said.

"There’s not much you can do about it once you’ve committed to the drive. There’s not really public transport out to where our office is so I didn’t really have any other options."

Advertising manager Matt Cowdell, 28 left home in Geelong just before 7am and finally arrived at work in Southbank at 9.45am.

Mr Cowdell said his commute usually took just over an hour but this morning was almost three hours.

"It was just ridiculous and when I worked out that I was stuck in the traffic it was already too late, I was just stuck," he said.

"My biggest gripe is that there’s no early warning system, so unless you’re listening to the radio every morning, which most people do, at the stage where I could see the warning sign saying the tunnel was closed it was already too late and I just had to stay there.

"Otherwise I would have pulled over and got a coffee somewhere or caught a train, but once you’re stuck in it it’s too late. They need a better early warning system like an SMS or something."

Roads Minister Terry Mulder called the roads debacle “unacceptable”.

“We have got a situation that is unacceptable….these sorts of situations are going to continue to occur unless we do something about a second crossing,” he told 3AW.

“We’d like to think they have mechanisms in place that ensure you don’t have failures like this.”

Scroll down for a list of alternative routes to take home



He said the city was “reliant on that one major arterial crossing” and “we can’t continue to do that”.

“We can’t rely on that single route.”

The tunnels connect Southbank, Melbourne's CBD and Richmond under the Yarra.

"They are key access points for people travelling to and from work," he said.

Motorists heading towards the Burnley Tunnel on the West Gate Freeway have been told to exit by Power St, while those approaching the Domain Tunnel on the Monash Freeway should exit by Punt Rd.

Heavy vehicles have been told to exit the Monash Freeway at Warrigal Rd, while those travelling west should exit at Kings Way.

Public transport and flights have also been affected.

Tram commuters were delayed on routes 8, 70, 16, 48, 75, 82 and 109 due to traffic congestion.

Melbourne Airport spokeswoman Anna Gillett said any passengers who were concerned about missing their flight should contact the airline they were booked with.

“We have received a number of calls this morning from passengers and have advised them to speak to their airline directly,” Ms Gillett said.

“All flights are running as scheduled.”

Unlucky motorists miss flights

Ambulance Victoria spokeswoman Susannah Wilson said the call centre was monitoring the situation and advising paramedics to take alternative routes around the tollway and affected roads.

The VicRoads spokesman said luckily it was school holidays otherwise the situation could have been much worse. Scores of inbound roads were gridlocked.

VicRoads listed Barkers Rd, Victoria St, Lower Heidelberg Rd, Heidelberg Rd, Sydney Rd and Royal Parade as having heavy traffic.

Roads to take:



Calder Fwy (Inbound)



Melton Hwy to Western Ring Rd



Western Ring Rd to Tullamarine Fwy

EastLink (Northbound)



Thompson Rd to Dandenong Bypass



Dandenong Bypass to Monash Fwy



Monash Fwy to Ferntree Gully Rd



Ferntree Gully Rd to Burwood Hwy



Burwood Hwy to Maroondah Hwy / Ringwood Bypass



Maroondah Hwy / Ringwood Bypass to Eastern Fwy / Springvale Rd



Monash Fwy & CityLink (Inbound)



Jacksons Rd to Wellington Rd



Wellington Rd to Warrigal Rd



Warrigal Rd to Toorak Rd



Princes Fwy (Inbound)



Duncans Rd to Kororoit Creek Rd



Kororoit Creek Rd to Western Ring Rd



West'n & Metropolitan Ring Rd (Northbound)



West Gate Fwy to Ballarat Rd



Ballarat Rd to Calder Fwy



Calder Fwy to Tullamarine Fwy



Tullamarine Fwy to Sydney Rd



Sydney Rd to Greensborough Hwy



Calder Fwy (Outbound)



Tullamarine Fwy to Western Ring Rd



Western Ring Road to Melton Hwy



Eastern Fwy (Outbound)



Hoddle St to Chandler Hwy



Chandler Hwy to Doncaster Rd



Doncaster Rd to Springvale Rd



EastLink (Southbound)



Eastern Fwy / Springvale Rd to Ringwood Bypass / Maroondah Hwy



Ringwood Bypass / Maroondah Hwy to Burwood Hwy



Burwood Hwy to Ferntree Gully Rd



Ferntree Gully Rd to Monash Fwy



Monash Fwy to Dandenong Bypass



Dandenong Bypass to Thompson Rd



Thompson Rd to Frankston Fwy



Source: VicRoads

- with Angus Thompson, Michelle Ainsworth, AAP