Victorians will be charged tolls to use the North East Link for 50 years to pay for the $15.8 billion mammoth project – the most expensive road infrastructure ever constructed in Victoria.

The "North East Link Tolling Agreement" was tabled in the Victorian Parliament yesterday and revealed for the first time the schedule of the tolling arrangements that will be in place when the road is completed by 2028.

Premier Daniel Andrews defended the lifespan of the arrangement, saying the project would finally be completed by the end of this decade. It was first flagged by the Bolte government in the late 1960s.

“We’ve always indicated that it was a toll road,” Mr Andrews said this morning.

“This is a bit of a spurious debate frankly. On the one hand, we’ve got people saying you can’t possibly borrow to build. On the other hand, we’ve got people critical of having a roll road.

“We are literally perhaps the only city in the world that’s got a ring road that has a gap in it. It’s not a complete circle."

The new road will connect the M80 in Greensborough to the Eastern Freeway in Bulleen.

The government in late October revealed the longest road tunnel to be built as part of the North East Link would be extended a further 1.9 kilometres and cost an additional $2 billion.

The tolls will only apply to the tunnels. High-productivity freight vehicles will be charged tolls 4.5 times that of a car, heavy commercial vehicles three times, light commercial vehicles 1.6 times, and motorcycles will pay half the toll fees of a car.

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Opposition transport infrastructure spokeswoman Louise Staley said the long length of the tolling arrangement was indicative of the Andrews government’s inability to manage the budget.

“A baby born in 2052 will still be paying those tolls when he or she gets their licence,” Ms Staley said.

“This is because the government can’t manage projects. They all go over budget so they’ve got to set up a framework that will tax Victorians for generations to cover their mismanagement. It’s not good enough, it’s outrageous that they are baking into their toll deeds their own financial mismanagement.”