B78 WATERFALLWAY DRAFT CORRIDOR STRATEGY JULY 2017 WATERFALL WAY DRAFT CORRIDOR STRATEGY July 2017 Waterfall Way DRAFT CORRIDOR STRATEGY Draft for consultation I Draft only: actions subject to government priorities and funding availability B78 WATERFALL WAY DRAFT CORRIDOR STRATEGY JULY 2017 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY EXECUTIVE SUMMARY EXECUTIVE Heading east through Bellingen Main Street The Waterfall Way Corridor is during consultation will inform future planning, final actions will be subject to government located in Northern NSW and priorities and funding availability. extends from the Pacific Highway The Waterfall Way provides: at Raleigh to the NewDraft England for Highway at Armidale a distance of • The Waterfall Way is an important transport corridor, providing an east – west connection 170km. Traffic volumes along the between the Pacific and New England Waterfall Way vary in the rural highways. It connects rural communities to the sections from around 750 vehicles urban centres of Coffs Harbour and Armidale per day (vpd) betweenconsultation Dorrigo • It is a tourist route passing the waterfalls on the Dorrigo Mountain and provides access to the and Ebor to over 6,700vpd Dorrigo National Park between the Pacific Highway and • A transport route for the timber and Bellingen. agricultural industries. Key customers along the corridor include: This draft sets out the proposed strategic vision to manage and guide development of the Waterfall • Commuters; trips to urban centres, such as Way road corridor to improve safety, traffic Coffs Harbour, for employment and education efficiency and sustainability. There is no • Longer personal and work related educational, commitment to, or funding for, proposed actions health, recreational and business trips; identified in this draft. While feedback received including to and from regional and interstate locations II Draft only: actions subject to government priorities and funding availability B78 WATERFALL WAY DRAFT CORRIDOR STRATEGY JULY 2017 • Heavy and light freight movements generally • 88 per cent of the length between the Pacific between industrial (including agriculture) and Highway and Bellingen, a distance of 12km, has SUMMARY EXECUTIVE commercial centres including to or from shoulder widths <2.0m. regional and interstate locations. • Level of Service (LoS): Bellingen to Pacific Current corridor challenges and Highway has an AM peak LoS of ‘D’ and it is performance include: predicted by 2025 LoS in both the AM & PM peaks will both be ‘D’. The remainder of the • Road safety: There were 314 reported crashes route will remain at LoS ‘A’ to ‘C’. along the corridor between January 2010 and • Pavement: Between the Pacific Highway and December 2014 resulting in 180 casualty Thora a range of pavement deterioration crashes involving either an injury or fatality. Of conditions are evident, these are due to the casualty crashes there were nine fatal, 61 insufficient pavement thickness or issues serious injury, 53 moderate injury, 32 minor related to the width of the pavement. From injury and 25 uncatergorised injury crashes. Thora and Dorrigo pavement issues in this This equates to a crash rate of 0.21 casualty section are typically related to insufficient crashes/per kilometre/per year which is higher pavement width in constricted locations and than 0.077 casualty crashes/ per kilometre/per drainage. Between Dorrigo to Armidale year on other comparable roads of this pavement issues along this section typically standard across the State. result from insufficient pavement thickness, and • Road safety risks associated with off degradation of pavement layers with some carriageway crashes can be directly tied to constraints also applied to the pavement due to narrow lane and shoulder widths, poor clear narrow formation width. zones and tight curves. • Road geometry: Challenges for the Dorrigo • Overall the Waterfall Way has 76 per cent of Mountain section include steep grades, sections the route with lane widths <3.5m and 68 per with single travel lane, slope stability, lack of cent with shoulder widths less than the overtaking facilities. planning targets for this class of route. • Environmental: Management of flora and fauna. Draft for consultation Dangar Street and Kentucky Street intersection, Armidale III Draft only: actions subject to government priorities and funding availability B78 WATERFALL WAY DRAFT CORRIDOR STRATEGY JULY 2017 Proposed actions • Implement road safety initiatives to address EXECUTIVE SUMMARY EXECUTIVE identified and emerging crash types and • Improve safety on the one lane sections of the locations. Particularly crashes that occur on Dorrigo Mountain. curves, those that are a result of speed, wet surface or those that involve motorcyclists. • Install permanent Vehicle Activated Signage at appropriate high risk locations. • Carry out a route safety review between Dorrigo and Armidale. • Improve provision of information along the corridor to better inform road customers on • Carry out an audit and assessment of bridges changing traffic conditions. along the corridor suitable for widening and investigate options to improve safety on a • Progressively improve the formation width, by priority basis: widening sealed shoulder and improving lane widths on a priority basis particularly between: – Sandy Creek Bridge – The Pacific Highway and Bellingen – Bakers Creek Bridge – Ebor and Kempsey Road (Wollomombi). – Pipe Culvert unnamed creek near fish hatchery. • Upgrade table drains between Bellingen and Dorrigo Mountain top to improve pavement • Address identified high risk slopes on a priority drainage and upgrade pavement width basis particularly between Bellingen and the where appropriate. Dorrigo Mountain top. • Develop a strategy to widen pavements to • Develop and implement management plans meet network targets. and rehabilitation of identified defective • Investigate and implement edgelines on a culverts on a priority basis to manage high priority basis. risk locations. • Progressively treat high risk isolated curves on • Work with council to investigate opportunities the route to reduce the relatively high to improve flood immunity level and proportion of off road on curve crashes; route reliability. particularly west of Thora near Darkwood Road • Plan for minor realignment and formation and between Ebor and Armidale. widening between the Pacific Highway and • Review and rationalise existing rest stop Bellingen including accommodating for active opportunities with better signage. transport users. Draft •for Investigate and plan widening of Myers Bluff • Implement identified clear zones works to remove or provide protection from hazards and the Gordonville realignment. including culverts within the clear zone taking • Improve the operation and standard of key into consideration the road geometry and intersections, incorporating heavy vehicle environment/land use constraints particularly turning paths where necessary to increase between Dorrigo and Ebor. efficiency and safety including but not • Strengthen pavement consultationand carry out pavement limited to: repair work along the corridor on a priority – Ebor Rd/Guyra Road intersection basis particularly between the Pacific Highway – Waterfall Way/Armidale Road intersection and Bellingen. – Kentucky Street/Dangar Street • Incorporate high visibility line marking, raised – Waterfall Way/Miller Street intersection. pavement markers and fluorescent signage to assist motorists during times of fog and rain, where appropriate. IV Draft only: actions subject to government priorities and funding availability B78 WATERFALL WAY DRAFT CORRIDOR STRATEGY JULY 2017 • Continue to minimise and balance impacts to • Review centre-line marking and consider the natural environment and incorporate removing overtaking opportunities less than SUMMARY EXECUTIVE environment aspects in all future projects. the appropriate standard. • Work with Armidale Regional Shire Council to • Investigate and implement pull over bays in develop a strategic traffic model to determine areas between Thora and Dorrigo to improve whole of network solutions addressing traffic Level of Service, where appropriate. and transport issues within Armidale. • Continue to develop and implement the • Improve eastbound and westbound overtaking Bellingen main street upgrade. opportunities between the Pacific Highway and Bellingen. Draft for consultation V Draft only: actions subject to government priorities and funding availability B78 WATERFALL WAY DRAFT CORRIDOR STRATEGY JULY 2017 CONTENTS CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES 1 INTRODUCTION AND Figure 1-1 Waterfall Way location map 3 CORRIDOR DESCRIPTION 2 Figure 3-1 Waterfall Way Corridor Planning 1.1 Why a corridor strategy? 2 Sections 11 1.2 Corridor function 2 Figure 3-2 Crash concentration map Pacific 1.3 Current population and employment in Highway to Ebor 13 the corridor 4 Figure 3-3 Crash concentration map Ebor 1.4 Industry and economic development 4 to Armidale 13 1.5 Traffic volumes and heavy vehicles 5 1.6 Public and active transport in the corridor 5 Figure 3-4 Waterfall Way Crash Summaries 14 Figure 3-5 Waterfall Way Rest Areas 15 2 A VISION FOR THE FUTURE Figure 3-6 Waterfall Way – traffic count AND CORRIDOR OBJECTIVES 8 locations 2015 17 2.1 Corridor vision 8 Figure 3-7 Waterfall Way – daily traffic 2.2 Corridor objectives 8 volumes 2015 17 Figure 3-8 Waterfall Way overtaking lanes 22 3 CURRENT CORRIDOR Figure 3-9 Waterfall Way curvature 25 PERFORMANCE 10 Figure 3-10 Waterfall Way grades 25 3.1 Corridor planning sections