It is one of the most important freeways in terms of commuting to the city, connecting Alexandra Parade and Hoddle Street in the inner suburbs, with EastLink tollway farther east.

The freeway narrows once more to three lanes just before Bulleen Road, and features a concrete barrier rather than the grassy median that was designed to carry a railway.

VicRoads also operates a network of CCTV cameras across the entire length of the freeway and abnormal traffic movements by vehicles are reported to Victoria Police.

[5] The central reservation was designed to be wide enough to cater for a proposed Doncaster railway line between Hoddle Street and Bulleen Road,[3] bridges over it deliberately kept free of support pylons to allow for it.

[11] One last 5km extension to the Eastern Freeway, to terminate at the intersection of Maroondah Highway and Mount Dandenong Road via the eastern half of the Ringwood Bypass in Ringwood, was planned in October 2000:[12] this would include tunnels 1.5km in length and a connection with the planned Scoresby Freeway (later EastLink), cost $326 million, and was scheduled for completion in mid-2005.

Originally designated F-19 under the 1969 Melbourne Transportation Plan during its construction in the early 1970s, it was supposed to be linked to the then-new Tullamarine Freeway, as well as taking traffic off the Maroondah Highway.

The driver of the Porsche, Richard Pusey, was also drunk and was later arrested for running away from the scene and for filming the dying police officers, later pleading guilty to three charges,[14] and was jailed for 10 months.

[15] On 14 April 2021, truck driver Singh was sentenced to at least 22 years in prison by the Supreme Court of Victoria over the manslaughter of four police officers.

[16] Despite the inherent danger in small and large vehicles travelling at high speeds, the freeway is generally considered one of the safest in Melbourne, with minimal changes of elevation, a flowing route, ample shoulder space and well-maintained safety barriers.

[23] On 1 March 2007, the Victorian Government announced a study linking the major freeways conducted by international transport expert Sir Rod Eddington.

The Eddington Transport Report was released in early 2008 and outlined 20 main recommendations for the city, including a tunnel from the Eastern Freeway to CityLink under Royal Park.

[27] One aspect of the East West Link proposal was to widen the Eastern Freeway between Hoddle Street and Tram Road in Doncaster.