No homes to be bought in Melb tunnel plan

No homes will be acquired along Melbourne's Western Distributor route under plans unveiled by the state government.

The city will get a second river crossing in the form of a $5.5 billion twin tunnel project to ease traffic congestion in the inner west.

The Western Distributor will take motorists underground all the way from Williamstown Road to the Maribyrnong River in two tunnels that will begin at the widened 12-lane West Gate Freeway.

Under the reference design released by Premier Daniel Andrews on Sunday, no homes will be bought to build the project.

Shadow planning minister David Davis described the infrastructure as a "sub-optimal" solution after the Andrews government dumped the East West Link and said the community would be paying tolls "for a very long time".