through Braeside instead. Mornington Peninsula Freeway's northern section was first signed Metropolitan Route 11 when the Eel Race Drain to Frankston Freeway stage opened in 1976, and was completely re-routed from Wells Road when the last replacement stage of Frankston Freeway opened in 1980. Despite the fact most Victorian Freeways converted to the alphanumeric system by 1998, this section retained the Metropolitan Route 11 designation. Finally in 2013, with the opening of Peninsula Link, this section was reassigned M11 (although a number of Metropolitan Route 11 shields remain visible to this day). Southern Section Plans for the southern section as "Mornington Peninsula By-pass Road" had been made as far back as 1966, between Nepean Highway in Dromana and Eastbourne Road at Rosebud. It was built in small successive sections, starting at Nepean Highway at Dromana in late 1971 eventually to Jetty Road at Rosebud South in 1975. Another single-carriageway section between Dromana and the Nepean Highway at Mount Martha opened in 1984, later duplicated in 1989. The last extension between Mount Martha and Moorooduc South linking to Moorooduc Highway was opened in 1993 and finally duplicated in 1994. Mornington Peninsula Freeway's southern section was initially designated Freeway Route 87, this was removed in 1987. In 1989, Metropolitan Route 11 extended to the southern section via Frankston Freeway and Moorooduc Highway, when upgrades to Moorooduc Road and the duplication of the Dromana-Mount Martha section were completed, and re-routed from Moorooduc Road when the last extension to Tuerong opened in 1994. Similar to the Northern section, Metropolitan Route 11 was retained until 2013 when it was replaced by M11. Peninsula Link (Frankston Bypass) The 'Frankston Bypass', connecting the northern and southern sections, has been proposed numerous times over the years, appearing in the 1969 Melbourne Transportation Plan. The Mornington Peninsula Freeway was progressively opened at each end by the 1980s, with the Frankston Freeway also opened running south from Seaford into Frankston itself. The contract for the construction of the EastLink Tollway north from Seaford was signed in 2004, with construction starting the following year. EastLink opened in 2008. In early 2006 operator of EastLink, ConnectEast, offered to build the bypass by June 2009, but was rejected by the state government. The government would be required to contribute $100 million to the project, which would also have been funded through a 1c-2c increase in tolls. ConnectEast also wanted the EastLink concession period