A P-plate driver has been caught at 35 km/h over the speed limit in an otherwise smooth start to the opening of Melbourne's latest roadway.
Victoria Police say he was speeding along the stretch of road between the Princes Highway and Cheltenham Road in Dandenong - already dubbed the "Dandy Dragstrip".
The Mt Martha man was caught going 135 km/h in a 100 km/h zone along EastLink.
The driver was given a $292 on-the-spot fine, four demerit points and a one month licence suspension.
Leading Senior Constable Daryl Jones, from the Region 4 traffic task unit, warned drivers not to speed on EastLink, saying it will be heavily policed.
Police will conduct Operation Eastlinker for at least the next fortnight, 24 hours a day, targeting speed and other traffic offences.
"We want everyone to enjoy the new roads and not make it dangerous for other people," Sen-Const Jones said.
Despite the speeding motorist, Sen-Const Jones said the opening had gone smoothly, with police kept fairly quiet.
The roadway, which links Mitcham and Frankston in the city's east, was opened in stages.
ConnectEast spokesman James Tonkin urged motorists to take care, with plenty of cars having their first experience of the new road.
"There seems to be quite a lot of traffic up around the Mitcham area and around the tunnels.
"They are obviously the showpiece of EastLink and people seem to be flocking to them to look."
Only one minor accident has been reported so far, according to Mr Tonkin, with an incident on the northbound carriageway heading towards the Maroondah Highway.
Deputy Premier Rob Hulls urged drivers to be careful on the new road, which is expected to be busy in its first month when it can be used free before motorists have to pay tolls.
"There was an enormous number of people who wanted to experience the Eastlink experience, my message is to take caution," he told reporters.
He would not speculate on whether heavy traffic on Eastlink while there were no tolls would cause severe congestion when it ended at Hoddle St near Melbourne's CBD.
The Bracks Government broke a key election promise in April 2003 when it announced that motorists would have to pay tolls to use the road.
Current premier John Brumby was treasurer at the time.
Opposition leader Ted Baillieu said congestion on Eastlink could cause problems at both ends including at Hoddle Street and at the Frankston end at the Cranbourne Road intersection, which the government had not dealt with.
"We supported the project from start to finish, the problem we had was with the way it was initiated, and it was initiated on a lie," he told reporters.
"The people of the east will be pleased the road is open but it's not without its problems at both ends and of course every time drivers go through the tollgates they will remember that this was John Brumby's broken promise."
