northernexpressway environmental report

B Part B. Need for the Proposal and Consideration of Alternatives

4. Justifi cation and benefi ts of the and Port Wakefi eld Road Upgrade 4-1

5. Alternative routes considered and the selected route 5-1

6. Economic and fi nancial assessment 6-1 Northern Expressway Environmental Report

4 Justification and benefits of the Northern Expressway and Upgrade

4.1 Introduction

The proposed Northern Expressway and Port Wakefield Road Upgrade will provide significant State and regional benefits, in particular by improving access to for freight transport via the , including freight for export from key areas such as the wine producing area and the wine and citrus producing area. Together with the Expressway, it will provide a high standard link between the Sturt Highway at Gawler and the Port of Adelaide, ’s main shipping port. It will remove much heavy freight traffic from , Road and Heaslip Road, lessening congestion and improving safety for urban traffic in the northern suburbs.

4.1.1 Background

Part A outlined the various studies undertaken that justify the need for the Northern Expressway. For example, the Strategic Planning Study by SKM in 1998 concluded that there was a need to provide additional capacity for traffic movement from the outer northern suburbs, and that it is significantly more cost effective to develop a new route on the fringe of the northern urban area than to upgrade the existing Main North Road through northern metropolitan Adelaide. A route following the Angle Vale Road–Heaslip Road corridor, bypassing the Angle Vale township, was identified as being the preferred route for a new National Network road link. At the time, the study also recommended an upgrade of Port Wakefield Road between Waterloo Corner and from four to six lanes to accommodate the additional traffic generated as a result of the new route. The 2001 strategic review of upgrading options for a proposed new National Network link in the northern Adelaide area, by Transport SA (now DTEI), confirmed the findings of the previous study that the preferred long-term route for the National Network link was along the Angle Vale Road–Heaslip Road corridor.

Substantial growth and investment in the northern suburbs since the 1998 SKM study and the Transport SA strategic review add weight to the need for the project. Figure 4.1 illustrates traffic congestion on Heaslip Road and the national rail crossing in the study area.

4.2 National, regional and local planning and transport strategies supporting the proposal

4.2.1 AusLink

The proposed Northern Expressway is South Australia’s largest project under the current AusLink bilateral agreement with funding required over the first and second AusLink Investment Programs.

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The project will have significant benefits to the economic development of South Australia and amenity benefits to people living in Angle Vale and the northern suburbs that straddle Main North Road, as well as road safety benefits. The two components of the project (Northern Expressway and the Port Wakefield Road Upgrade) represent a single project under AusLink and are planned for implementation between 2007 and 2011. The key challenges and short-term strategic priorities relevant to this project are indicated in the recent joint DOTARS and DTEI document, Adelaide Urban Corridors Strategy: • Challenges: – rapid growth in freight activity – the amount of interstate freight that originates from, is destined for, or passes through Adelaide is expected to double by 2025, and the amount of urban road freight activity is expected to grow by around 60% – increasing congestion, predominantly at intersections – efficient road and rail access to intermodal terminals especially with regard to managing congestion on road links to terminals and the adjacent road networks • Short-term priorities (to 2015): – complete the construction of the Northern Expressway and protect these corridors from future congestion and crashes caused by local traffic – make better use of existing road and rail infrastructure through a combination of: • targeted infrastructure enhancements, such as road widening and grade separation • improved traffic control • further deployment of intelligent transport systems (ITS), including better incident management – develop and implement a freight network strategy for the efficient movement of freight by road and rail across and through Adelaide, including developing more effective links to existing and proposed intermodal facilities.

4.2.2 South Australia’s Strategic Plan

South Australia’s Strategic Plan expresses the South Australian Government’s priorities for South Australia. The proposed Northern Expressway and Port Wakefield Road Upgrade is an essential driver to the State’s economic development and will help achieve a number of targets in the revised plan (updated 2007), in particular: Objective 1 – Growing Prosperity • Target 1.1 Economic growth

• Target 1.14 Total exports

• Target 1.21 Strategic infrastructure.

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Train approaching Taylors Road crossing

Traffic on Angle Vale Road

Figure 4.1 Road and rail conditions within the study area

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4.2.3 The Strategic Infrastructure Plan for South Australia

The Strategic Infrastructure Plan for South Australia (2005) identifies strategic priorities for transport and completion of the link from the Sturt Highway to Outer Harbor as a priority one project. This reflects the South Australian Government’s strong support for the Northern Expressway. The upgrade of Port Wakefield Road to expressway standard is included as part of that link but it is not part of the current project. The Northern Expressway Project will contribute to economic growth in the State and nationally through improved efficiencies for transport, particularly for export, thereby expanding export potential. It will maximise the opportunity for freight transport to gain access to producers, transport hubs, freight gateways and markets, achieve better delivery times and increase cost efficiency to gain a competitive edge, while improving safety significantly. The Northern Expressway and Port Wakefield Road Upgrade will also complement and reinforce the benefits of other strategic infrastructure to support development of the State. It links with two other current major transport infrastructure projects including the upgrading of the South Road corridor, and the which collectively will provide a continuous freight and commuter route from north to south through Adelaide and improve freight connectivity to Adelaide Airport and the Port of Adelaide. Furthermore, by improving the transport link to the regions north of Adelaide, such as Gawler and the Barossa, fringe rural communities will be more accessible to business, industry, tourists and commuters.

4.2.4 The Planning Strategy for Metropolitan Adelaide

The Planning Strategy for Metropolitan Adelaide (2006) refers to the importance of integration of land use and transport planning, ensuring that an effective freight and transport network is facilitated and sensitive uses adjacent to it are planned and managed to minimise safety and health issues from transport activities.

The proposed Northern Expressway has the potential to facilitate development as a result of improved accessibility. Local government and the South Australian Government will need to manage this interface given experience elsewhere throughout Australia (and internationally) in response to such new road infrastructure. The Planning Strategy identifies a future freight route between Gawler and Port Wakefield Road.

4.2.5 Planning Strategy for the Outer Metropolitan Adelaide Region

The Planning Strategy for the Outer Metropolitan Adelaide Region (2006) provides a framework for development based on principles of ecologically sustainable development and management for the outer metropolitan area. It also provides clear indication of the South Australian Government’s policy direction for the physical development of the Outer Metropolitan Adelaide Region. The strategy identifies the Barossa Valley as a key tourist destination within South Australia and the proposed Northern Expressway, together with the Port Wakefield Road Upgrade, will provide direct linkages from the city to this tourist destination. The strategy also identifies how the major freight roads through the Outer Metropolitan Adelaide Region link the Spencer Gulf cities and Eyre Peninsula to Adelaide. The Northern Expressway will provide direct linkages with the Sturt Highway which is also identified as a primary freight route within South Australia. The strategy supports the construction of the Expressway.

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The strategy seeks to protect agricultural land and focus urban development within current town boundaries of townships with sufficient infrastructure capacity.

4.2.6 Local Government Association’s Metropolitan Transport Strategy

The Local Government Association’s Metropolitan Transport Strategy Contract Report (prepared by the ARRB Group and Tonkin Consulting in August 2005) identified various local roads as having particular importance within the study area. These roads, which are relevant to the Northern Expressway, have been identified based on their particular function: • primary freight routes – Curtis Road, Taylors Road, West Avenue (Edinburgh Parks) and Wyatt Road

• secondary freight routes – Womma Road (west of Heaslip Road), St Kilda Road and Heaslip Road (north of Angle Vale Road)

• primary social access routes – Curtis Road and West Avenue

• primary tourism route – St Kilda Road.

4.3 Existing and projected need for the Northern Expressway

4.3.1 Traffic and freight conditions, demands and efficiencies

Without the Northern Expressway, the increasing congestion on Main North Road and the increase in urban, residential, commercial and freight activity expected in the future, will cause deterioration in operating conditions on existing roads and: • significant delays at all major intersections on Main North Road and Heaslip Road

• increased travel times and reduced speeds along the midblock sections of these roads – particularly important for commercial vehicle traffic for which time is a key factor

• incidents such as a breakdowns or crashes causing significant queues and delays to traffic

• increased crash rates as traffic levels increase, particularly at uncontrolled access points with vehicles trying to enter the arterial roads where sufficient gaps in the traffic may not occur

• increased use of local roads (‘rat running’) to bypass the poor operating conditions on the major arterial roads, expected particularly on the north–south Andrews and Stebonheath roads as well as on east– west roads such as Curtis and Petherton, and creating greater risk for pedestrians, increased noise and reduced air quality, as well as an increase in crashes, primarily at intersections.

Main North Road passes through Adelaide’s northern suburbs and, although a six-lane road in places, its efficient operation as a main through route for freight is severely constrained from Gawler to Gepps Cross by considerable local, short distance traffic and by numerous intersections, 22 of which are signalised. The road is already congested at times, particularly the four-lane sections, and traffic conditions certainly exceed the operational standards and desired level of transport efficiency for a National Network road link. Base case traffic modelling shows that a number of the arterial roads in the study area will have significant increases in traffic volumes in the future without the construction of the Northern Expressway.

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The predicted volume increases from 2006 to 2026 (2006 to 2016 for Port Wakefield Road) for the various major roads in the study area without the Northern Expressway are: • 17,300 vehicles per day (vpd) to 27,200 vpd on the south of Redbanks Road (57% increase)

• 34,000 vpd to 49,200 vpd on Main North Road south of the Gawler Bypass (45%)

• 35,900 vpd to 46,700 vpd on Main North Road at Munno Para north of Womma Road (30%)

• 40,700 vpd to 69,700 vpd on Main North Road at Elizabeth south of Philip Highway (71%)

• 41,300 vpd to 51,300 vpd on Main North Road at Salisbury north of Kings Road (24%)

• 5,700 vpd to 13,000 vpd on Angle Vale Road east of Angle Vale (128%)

• 8,800 to 11,600 vpd on Heaslip Road north of Curtis Road (32%)

• 11,600 vpd to 27,600 vpd on Heaslip Road north of Waterloo Corner (138%)

• 14,000 vpd to 23,200 vpd on Port Wakefield Road south of Taylors Road (66%)

• 27,300 to 34,900 vpd on Port Wakefield Road south of Waterloo Corner Road (28%)

• 47,600 vpd to 59,800 vpd on Port Wakefield Road south of Martins Road (26%).

The Northern Expressway is expected to re-route heavy freight traffic and other traffic to and divert up to 12,000 additional vehicles per day onto Port Wakefield Road at the commencement of the link in 2011, and 26,000 additional vehicles per day by 2026. Without the Northern Expressway and Port Wakefield Road Upgrade, sections of Main North Road, Heaslip Road and Port Wakefield Road would exceed capacity before 2016. Beyond 2016, the link between the Northern Expressway and Salisbury Highway will need to be further upgraded. This link will be the subject of a further planning study.

4.3.2 Population growth and employment

The outer northern metropolitan area is one of the largest and fastest growing regions of South Australia, making a significant contribution to the State’s economy and identified by the Metropolitan Planning Strategy as Adelaide’s main growth area. Approximately 20% of Adelaide’s total population lives there. Figure 4.2 illustrates the diversity of land use within the study area. Significant areas of future potential land use and economic activity in the region include: • further expansion of the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) at Edinburgh Parks including defence and electronic enterprises and a central laboratory precinct on West Avenue

• further expansion of Edinburgh Parks industrial precinct

• the formation of an Australian Army armoured battalion in the Edinburgh Parks area that will introduce a significant number of personnel to the area

• extension of the main runway at the RAAF Base Edinburgh and associated electronic support for take- off and landing

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Workers harvesting market garden crops on the western side of Taylors Road

Cattle yard

Figure 4.2 Land use diversity within the study area

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• future possibilities of expansion of new industry along Womma Road, west of the Elizabeth West industrial area

• potential development activities for light engineering, food value-adding and distribution associated with the Waterloo Corner–Direk area, east and west of Port Wakefield Road

• potential intermodal terminal located between Taylors and Heaslip roads and associated transport storage and logistics activities at Waterloo Corner associated with the Adelaide–/Darwin rail line – the closest site to Adelaide free of non-agricultural development and providing the required 2 km of straight track

• the possibility of expansion of industry on land west and north of Gawler associated with rural development in the Barossa, Riverland and Mid North

• further consolidation of the horticultural areas with greater capital investment in greenhouses and hydroponic production and with this, a greater emphasis on supply chains and value-adding through on- site packing (noting the expansion of the Bolivar treated water pipe network)

• development of Playford North – a major urban renewal project upgrading the existing public housing area in the Smithfield Plains–Davoren Park area and combining with the Land Management Corporation-owned land at Munno Para West

• potential residential development around Gawler.

The northern suburban areas will continue to grow, particularly in Gawler South and Playford North around Munno Para and Elizabeth West–Penfield where land is at present owned by the Land Management Corporation and is land-banked for future communities. Northern growth is limited by the Urban Boundary and while there is a significant land supply within this area (at least for a further 10–15 years) the Expressway has the potential to facilitate development in the region generally. It is considered that growth will continue within the townships of Virginia and Angle Vale although the extent of the towns is limited. Importantly, this growth will be accompanied by increasing demand for urban services, particularly effluent and stormwater drainage. Most importantly, there will be an increase in the numbers of young children and youth in the new areas as well as a general ageing of the population within established suburbs. The ageing population will to some extent be offset by the planned renewal of suburbs in the Playford and Salisbury North areas but will still remain as a significant factor. Children, youth and the elderly have particular needs for accessibility to certain services and to public transport. The location of health and education services in the main centres of Elizabeth, Munno Para, Salisbury and Gawler will continue and current access routes will be reinforced.

4.3.3 Tourism access

Tourism in the Barossa, Mid North and Riverland regions is expected to continue to grow, particularly from the new northern suburbs’ residents, and the Northern Expressway will facilitate access to these areas.

4.3.4 Heavy vehicle access

Future drivers for economic development are expected to come from the key industries already in the region, which range from manufacturing, defence and information technology to horticulture and

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viticulture. The Edinburgh Parks development, together with established major industries such as General Motors (GM) Holden, form part of a major arc of industry extending from Salisbury–Elizabeth to Outer Harbor, through Cavan, Wingfield and Port Adelaide. Overall, it is expected that industrial and agricultural activity will increase by 5% annually over the next 10 years and that all the major roads will experience a projected growth in traffic of 2–5% per year over the same period. The amount of freight from interstate is expected to double in the next 20 years. The regional significance of the Northern Expressway Project is shown on Figure 4.3, illustrating these important transport links and economic drivers. Secondary economic benefits of the Northern Expressway are currently being assessed further.

4.3.5 Road safety

The Northern Expressway and Port Wakefield Road Upgrade will provide an alternative route for heavy vehicle traffic that currently travels through the northern urban areas. Accident statistics indicate that: • signalised intersections along Main North Road have high numbers of crashes due to the high volume of traffic using this road

• on Heaslip Road, the major unsignalised intersections with Angle Vale Road, Curtis Road, Womma Road and Waterloo Corner Road have high crash volumes and high numbers of casualty crashes compared to the signalised intersections on Main North Road

• Heaslip Road appears to have a high proportion of casualty crashes in the midblock section south of RAAF Base Edinburgh to Waterloo Corner Road.

A number of local roads are considered as having high crash rates for their current traffic volumes: • Dalkeith Road/Coventry Road intersection

• Robert Road/Taylors Road intersection

• Curtis Road between Heaslip and Stebonheath roads.

Existing heavy vehicle traffic passing through the Angle Vale township provides a potential safety risk for students at the Angle Vale Primary School which has frontage on Heaslip Road. It is estimated that crash rates could be reduced by up to 15% on Main North Road by the Northern Expressway and by approximately 50% on Angle Vale and Heaslip roads. The predicted crash rate for the Expressway itself can be judged by comparison of the rate of 29 crashes per year on the with the 490 crashes per year on Main North Road from Gawler to Gepps Cross. In 2011, the estimated benefit of crash reductions due to the Expressway and Port Wakefield Road Upgrade is estimated to be $5 million annually.

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4-10 N o r t h e r n E x p r e s s w a y E n v i r o n m e n t a l R e p o r t

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