HW1 Island Point Road Roundabout Installation Review of Environmental Factors Roads and Maritime Services | August 2019
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HW1 Island Point Road Roundabout Installation Review of Environmental Factors Roads and Maritime Services | August 2019 BLANK PAGE HW1 Island Point Road Roundabout Installation Review of Environmental Factors Roads and Maritime Services | August 2019 Prepared by Cardno (NSW/ACT) Pty Ltd and Roads and Maritime Services RMS.19.1361 ISBN: 978-1-925891-85-0 Copyright: The concepts and information contained in this document are the property of NSW Roads and Maritime Services. Use or copying of this document in whole or in part without the written permission of NSW Roads and Maritime Services constitutes an infringement of copyright. Document controls Approval and authorisation Title HW1 Island Point Road Roundabout Installation review of environmental factors Accepted on behalf of NSW Ben Beattie Roads and Maritime Services Project/Contract Manager by: Signed: Dated: 27 August 2019 Document status Document status Date Prepared by Reviewed by Draft 1 10/07/2019 Michael Stojanoski Cassy Baxter Draft 2 30/07/2019 Michael Stojanoski Cassy Baxter Draft 3 21/08/2019 Michael Stojanoski Cassy Baxter Final 26/08/2019 Michael Stojanoski Cassy Baxter Executive summary The proposal Roads and Maritime Services proposes to install a roundabout at the Princes Highway and Island Point Road intersection, Tomerong, within the Shoalhaven Local Government Area (LGA). The features of the roundabout include: • Two southbound lanes entering and exiting the roundabout on Princes Highway • Two lanes entering the roundabout from Island Point Road • One northbound lane entering the roundabout and one northbound slip lane on Princes Highway • Relocation of the existing street lights at the intersection • A cyclist crossing point for crossing Princes Highway on southern side of roundabout. Need for the proposal Tomerong is in the South Coast Region of NSW, around 20 kilometres south of Nowra. At the intersection of the Princes Highway and Island Point Road in Tomerong, a total of 36 vehicle crashes were recorded between 1 July 2011 and 30 September 2016. These crashes resulted in 45 casualties, including 11 serious injuries. As part of the NSW Road Safety Strategy, the NSW Government established the Safer Roads Program aiming to reduce crashes on the NSW road network. As part of the program, a project for a new roundabout at Island Point Road was developed to improve safety at this intersection. Proposal objectives and development criteria The objectives of the proposal include: • Improve road safety and reduce the occurrence of crashes at the intersection of Princes Highway and Island Point Road, targeting the dominant crash types that have been recorded at the intersection (majority involve vehicles crossing the highway in to or out of Island Point Road) • Improve traffic efficiency and intersection performance as traffic modelling found that the current intersection would fail service requirements in 2020. HW1i Island Point Road Roundabout Installation Review of Environmental Factors Options considered The options considered as part of the proposal development were: 1. Install a roundabout: a. With a free flowing northbound lane b. With the northbound lane passing through the roundabout 2. Install traffic signals on the existing intersection arrangement 3. Reconfigure the intersection to a channelised right turn (CHR) arrangement: a. With a realigned left turn lane into Island Point Road b. With the left turn into Island Point Road removed and a new access provided at Grange Road c. With the right turn out of Island Point Road banned and a turn-around facility located to the south d. With the right turn out of Island Point Road banned and relocated to a new location 4. Grade separated interchange 5. Do nothing – no change to existing arrangement. Option 1a has been selected as the preferred option, as it meets both objectives in improving road safety and traffic efficiency. It also has a smaller environmental impact and provides good value for money. Statutory and planning framework The proposed roundabout needs to be approved and built in accordance with the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EP&A Act). Roads and Maritime is able to build roads consistent with the requirements of Clause 94 of the State Environmental Planning Policy (Infrastructure) 2007 providing it meets the obligations under part 5 of the EP&A Act. This requires Roads and Maritime to “examine and take into account to the fullest extent possible all matters affecting, or likely to affect, the environment by reason of that activity” before determining if the proposed roundabout is to be built. Roads and Maritime is also required to decide if any other legal requirements are identified that would require the proposed roundabout to either be approved by a third-party under development consent or whether any additional information is needed. This Review of Environmental Factors (REF) has been prepared to assist Roads and Maritime to review legislative requirements and to document related environmental assessment, community and stakeholder consultation obligations for the proposal. Community and stakeholder consultation Roads and Maritime carried out community consultation in March and April 2017 to determine how the intersection is used and what difficulties are experienced while using the intersection. Over 300 responses were received, showing a high level of community interest in an upgrade to the intersection. The main concerns with the current intersection were: • Driver behaviour (impatient drivers and risk-taking behaviour) • Speed of through traffic on the Princes Highway • Visibility/geometry of the intersection • Turning movements at the intersection, particularly turning right out of Island Point Road Several upgrade options were identified and considered, including the installation of traffic lights, a roundabout, a grade-separated interchange (fly-over), and reconfiguring the current intersection. An extensive option selection process which included consideration of road safety benefits, traffic modelling, cost analysis and community feedback was then undertaken, which identified a roundabout with a free- flowing northbound lane as the preferred option. A community update summarising the feedback received, HW1ii Island Point Road Roundabout Installation Review of Environmental Factors the selected treatment option and the next steps in project development was distributed in November 2018, along with the creation of a project webpage and phone number. Environmental impacts The key potential environmental impacts of the proposed roundabout identified in this assessment are: • Minor biodiversity impacts due to the removal of 0.95 ha of vegetation for construction. No threatened species or endangered ecological communities are likely to be significantly affected by the proposal. • Night works would be required to construct the proposal, which has the potential to temporarily impact a number of isolated residents adjacent to the construction footprint. Stage three of the construction program is likely to have the largest impact, as an excavator with a hammer would be required for approximately 4-6 weeks. • Construction activities have the potential for minor erosion and sedimentation that requires management to not impact drainage lines Temporary closure of Island Point Road between Grange Road and the Princes Highway for up to two weeks and lane road closures on the Princes Highway. Closures would require detours which would increase traffic and vehicle movements on Hawken Road and The Wool Road during construction • Minor disruption to businesses and the local community at the intersection of Island Point Road and the Princes Highway during construction. Justification and conclusion The proposed roundabout at Island Point Road and the Princes Highway is subject to assessment under Part 5 of the EP&A Act. The REF has examined and taken into account to the fullest extent possible all matters affecting or likely to affect the environment where the proposed activity would occur. This includes the wilderness areas, critical habitat, impacts on threatened species, populations and ecological communities and their habitats and other protected fauna and native plants. It has also considered potential impacts to matters of national environmental significance listed under the Federal EPBC Act. Through design refinements, a number of environmental impacts have been reduced or avoided, however it still would result in impacts to biodiversity, soils, traffic and transport. Vegetation removal required for the work is unavoidable and would likely only have a minor impact to the environment. The proposal would have a positive impact on the community of the Shoalhaven LGA due the improved safety and accessibility to Island Point Road from the Princes Highway. The environmental impacts associated with the construction and operational phases of works would be managed through effectively applying the safeguards and mitigation measures outlined in this REF. HW1iii Island Point Road Roundabout Installation Review of Environmental Factors Contents Executive summary ..................................................................................................................................... i Contents ..................................................................................................................................................... iv 1. Introduction .........................................................................................................................................