F 3 T O S Y D N E Y O R B I T A L L I N K S T U D Y s u m m a r y r e p o r t february 2004 Part A Summary Foreword Contents This is the summary report on a study to identify a preferred option for a new National Highway link through Introduction.....................................................................2 northern Sydney between the F3 Sydney to Newcastle The Current Situation .....................................................3 Freeway and the Sydney Orbital. Key Issues of Growth and Sustainability ........................5 The new link is intended to replace the existing interim National Highway, which runs along Pennant Hills Road. Rail Freight and Public Transport ...................................7 Pennant Hills Road suffers from traffic congestion and Need for a New Link and Its Objectives .........................8 high crash rates as well as causing severe amenity impacts for adjacent residents. The new link is intended Options Development and the Corridor Types .............10 to be constructed after the Westlink M7 opens. Transport Assessment of Corridor Types A, B and C...12 Consultants Sinclair Knight Merz were commissioned in Social Effects Assessment of Corridor Types A, B early 2002 to carry out the study for the Australian and C ......................................................................14 Government. The NSW Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) managed the study. The study team reported to a Environmental Assessment of Corridor Types A, B Steering Committee of the Department of Transport and and C ......................................................................15 Regional Services (DOTARS), the RTA and the NSW Department of Transport, now Department of Economic Assessment of Corridor Types A, B and C ..17 Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources (DIPNR). The Type A Options .....................................................18 The study includes a range of assumptions about the Transport Assessment of Type A Options....................20 development of the transport system of Sydney. While most of these assumptions were drawn from public Social and Environmental Assessment of Type A documents at the time of analysis they are not Options ...................................................................21 necessarily current proposals or policy views of the NSW Capital Cost Estimates and Economic Assessment of or Australian Governments. Type A Options.......................................................22 The study was strategic in nature and examined broad Community Consultation ..............................................23 corridors and options for a new link. These were assessed for their feasibility in terms of: The Recommended Purple Option ...............................25 • Traffic and Transport – safety and network capacity, Recommendations and Way Forward ..........................27 focusing on freight, commercial and inter-regional travel; • Social effects – amenity, severance and property ; • Economic effects – project and community costs and benefits, including the effects of tolls; and • Environmental impacts – air quality, flora and fauna, noise and heritage. A comprehensive community and stakeholder involvement program was an integral part of the study. The views of the community have played an important part in formulating the study’s recommendations. The study has found that rail is unlikely to meet the future inter-regional transport task even if major rail infrastructure upgrades occur. The study also found that the Type A Purple option linking the F3 with the M2 Motorway best meets National Highway objectives and is justified on social, economic and inter-regional transport grounds. The study recommends that the Purple option be the preferred option for the new National Highway link. The next step should be the development of a concept proposal based on the Purple option. This should be the subject of further consultation with the community and an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). 1 Introduction This study builds on the work and findings of previous studies which have investigated improvements to the main northern transport corridor. Background and Purpose of the Study One of those opportunities is the Westlink M7 (previously known as the Western Sydney Orbital). This feasibility study was funded by the Federal Construction of Westlink M7 has commenced and is Department of Transport and Regional Services anticipated to be completed in 2006. The Westlink M7 (DOTARS) and managed by the New South Wales and part of the M2 Motorway will collectively form part of Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA). Sinclair Knight Merz the Sydney Orbital and replace the Cumberland was commissioned to undertake the study. The study Highway, as the National Highway through Sydney. area is shown in Figure 1. The completion of the Westlink M7 will leave the The purpose of the study was to identify a new high remaining section of Pennant Hills Road between the standard transport link between the F3 and the Sydney Sydney Orbital and the F3 as the only section of the Orbital and replace Pennant Hills Road as the interim National Highway through Sydney that is not motorway National Highway. The study timeframe is 20 years. standard. Prior to 1994 there was no designated National Highway route through Sydney. The National Highway terminated Approach to the Study at Hornsby in the north and at Crossroads (near Liverpool) in the south. In 1994, the Cumberland The stages and the key steps in undertaking the study Highway was declared part of the National Highway are shown in Figure 2. system. Since then the Australian Government has provided funding for significant upgrading of this link, and has been exploring opportunities to develop an alternative National Highway through Sydney which is of motorway standard. Figure 1: The Study Area Figure 2: The Study Process 2 The Current Situation The large and increasing volumes of traffic including heavy trucks travelling day and night along the interim National Highway have caused a significant loss of urban amenity along Pennant Hills Road. Of the 8,800 trucks using Pennant Hills Road each week-day, about half are six, eight or nine axle articulated trucks carrying 40 gross tonnes or more. Travelling Conditions Traffic along the F3 corridor has been increasing at an average rate of about 3% per year over the last ten Pennant Hills Road years. Average annual daily traffic (AADT) at the The existing interim National Highway route through Hawkesbury River Bridge was 71,200 vehicles per day Sydney runs partly along Pennant Hills Road. North of in 2002. During some holiday periods traffic flows are the M2 Motorway, Pennant Hills Road operates as a much higher than the average daily flows and severe major arterial road in Sydney’s transport network congestion can occur. carrying up to 75,600 vehicles per day (see Figure 3). Inter-regional and long-distance through-traffic volumes make up about 23% of total daily traffic. Pennant Hills Freight and Public Transport Road is generally six traffic lanes wide. There are 22 Rail Freight sets of traffic signals over the 9 kilometre section from the M2 Motorway to the F3 interchange at Wahroonga. The current rail share of the contestable freight market on the Main North Line is 5 million net tonnes per year or Average peak travel speeds on Pennant Hills Road are about 14% of total freight moved (by net tonnes) in the often below 25 km/h at Pennant Hills and can be as low corridor. as 14 km/h. The road is congested during commuter peak periods and business hours which results in About 50% of rail freight traffic on the Main North line unreliable travel times and can lead to major disruptions can be classified as through Sydney traffic, that is traffic to inter-regional traffic movements. on trains without an origin or destination in Sydney. Pennant Hills Road and the Pacific Highway are Rail’s traffic growth is restricted by the curfew on rail expected to experience continuing traffic growth. Since freight movements on the Sydney network during movements are at capacity during most peak periods, commuter peak periods and other capacity and service traffic volumes will grow outside the current peak periods reliability limitations on the Main North and North Coast and into business hours. lines. F3 Freeway Pennant Hills Road joins the F3 Freeway at Wahroonga. F3 is the National Highway route linking the Hunter region and the Central Coast to Sydney. Traffic to/from the Central Coast makes up about 60% of the total daily traffic on the F3. Long distance traffic including heavy vehicle traffic with origins and destinations north of the Central Coast make up about 40% of the daily traffic volumes. 71,200 F3 11,300 75,600 Pacific Hwy 8,800 63,500 4,000 Boundary Rd Wahroonga Pennant Hills Rd Beecroft Rd 69,000 8,000 Ryde Rd M2 77,400 4,900 Rail services are constrained on the Main North Rail Line 2002 Average Annual Daily Traffic (AADT) 2002 Average Weekday Truck Volumes (AWT) Figure 3: Existing Traffic Volumes on Major Arterials on the Northern Sydney Road Network 3 Road Transport Pedestrians and Cyclists Supporting freight and commerce is a key objective of The road and public transport infrastructure system must the National Highway network. The F3 carries an cater for the requirements of cyclists and pedestrians. average of 11,300 trucks each weekday at the They are small groups compared with the majority of Hawkesbury River bridge, including more than 5,500 travellers, however, they represent important