Newry Southern Relief Road Stage 2 Scheme Assessment Report Department for Infrastructure (DfI) Roads FINAL Project number: 60472927 September 2018 Newry Southern Relief Road Department for Infrastructure (DfI) Roads Project number: 60472927 Quality information Prepared by Checked by Verified by Approved by Sharon Campbell George Kissick Michael MacLean Michael MacLean Principal Engineer Associate Technical Director Technical Director Revision History Revision Revision date Details Authorized Name Position FINAL 28/09/2018 FINAL FOR MM Michael PM PUBLICATION MacLean Distribution List # Hard Copies PDF Required Association / Company Name 2 1 Liam McEvoy (DfI) Aloysius Loughran (DfI) Neville Dynes (DfI) 1 Raymond Glass (DfI Roads HQ) Prepared for: Department for Infrastructure (DfI) Roads AECOM ii Newry Southern Relief Road Department for Infrastructure (DfI) Roads Project number: 60472927 Prepared for: Department for Infrastructure (DfI) Roads Marlborough House Central Way Craigavon BT62 1AD © 2018 AECOM Infrastructure & Environment UK Limited. All Rights Reserved. This document has been prepared by AECOM Infrastructure & Environment UK Limited (“AECOM”) for sole use of our client (the “Client”) in accordance with generally accepted consultancy principles, the budget for fees and the terms of reference agreed between AECOM and the Client. Any information provided by third parties and referred to herein has not been checked or verified by AE COM, unless otherwise expressly stated in the document. No third party may rely upon this document without the prior and express written agreement of AECOM. Personal information has been removed in line with General Data Protection Regulations. Prepared for: Department for Infrastructure (DfI) Roads AECOM iii Newry Southern Relief Road Department for Infrastructure (DfI) Roads Project number: 60472927 About The Department for Infrastructure Roads The Department for Infrastructure Roads (DfI Roads) (formerly TransportNI and Roads Service) plays a significant role in facilitating the safe and convenient movement of people and goods throughout the province and the safety of road users, through the delivery of road maintenance services and the management and development of the transport network. It also informs the Department's policy development process to ensure that measures to encourage safe and sustainable travel are practical and can be delivered. DfI Roads is responsible for the maintenance of over 25,000km of public roads together with about 9,700km of footways, 5,800 bridges, 271,000 street lights and 51 Park & Ride/Park & Share (P&R/P&S) public car parks. It also has responsibility for the development of the transport network and a range of transport projects designed to improve network safety, sustainability and efficiency. The key objectives of DfI Roads are to: · manage, maintain and improve the transport network to keep it safe, efficient, reliable and sustainable; · promote increased customer satisfaction with the services delivered by DfI Roads; · work constructively with DfI Roads' key stakeholders to support the delivery of high quality services; · develop DfI Roads’ capacity and capability to meet objectives; · ensure effective management of DfI Roads’ budget, assets and corporate governance arrangements; and · improve DfI Roads’ resilience in responding to emergencies. For the purposes of this report, references to DfI Roads shall be read as references to its former TransportNI or Roads Service brand. Further information about DfI Roads is available on the website, please visit http://www.infrastructure- ni.gov.uk. Prepared for: Department for Infrastructure (DfI) Roads AECOM iv Newry Southern Relief Road Department for Infrastructure (DfI) Roads Project number: 60472927 0. Executive Summary The city of Newry, located mainly within southern County Down, has for many years suffered from traffic congestion. Some of the congestion has been relieved by the recent upgrading of the A1/N1 Strategic Corridor between Belfast and Dublin to a high standard dual carriageway. The town of Warrenpoint to the south-east of Newry has benefited from the increased usage of the recently enhanced port facility. The port is a regional gateway and has risen to rank second in Northern Ireland behind Belfast for volume of freight handled. The majority of the port’s vehicular traffic requires access to the A1/N1 corridor and currently has to pass through Newry City centre for onward journeys. The need for a strategic link between the A2 Warrenpoint Road and the A1/N1 Belfast-Dublin Corridor was recognised in the Banbridge, Newry and Mourne Area Plan 2015. In April 2015, AECOM was commissioned by the Department for Infrastructure to provide consultancy services in connection with promoting a Newry Southern Relief Road project through the preliminary assessment processes in accordance with the procedures established by the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges. Improvements to the strategic road network have been established in Northern Ireland policy through the publication of the Regional Development Strategy (RDS) and the Regional Transportation Strategy (RTS). These strategies are implemented in local policy through the Regional Strategic Transport Network Transport Plan 2015 (RSTNTP) and the Investment Strategy for Northern Ireland (ISNI). As set out in the Transport Analysis Guidance, the following are the overarching objectives for transport: · Economy - to support sustainable economic activity and get good value for money; · Environment - to protect the built and natural environment; · Social - to improve safety, accessibility and integration; and · Public Accounts - to consider the cost to the broad transport budget. During the early part of the development process, scheme objectives were identified that have been used in the preparation and assessment of corridor and route options. These specific objectives are to: · Reduce journey times for strategic traffic between the Eastern Seaboard (A1 Belfast / Dublin) KTC and the A2 Warrenpoint Road; · Improve journey time reliability for strategic traffic; · Reduce conflict between strategic and local traffic movements; · Contribute positively to transport economic efficiency; · Contribute positively to road safety; · Minimise impact on the environment; · Achieve value for money; and · Maintain navigation of the Newry Ship Canal. Following the decision of the DMRB Stage 1 process, that Corridors 4 and 5 should be subject to a Stage 2 Assessment, the project team has developed five route options for further assessment. The engineering designs of the options have been developed in more detail through consultation with various statutory and non-statutory bodies, and with a formal Community Consultation Event held in November 2017 that enabled members of the public and the various consultee bodies to view and comment upon the route options. Red Route proposes a new at-grade roundabout on the A2 Warrenpoint Road, crossing the Newry River and Ship Canal north of Victoria Lock. A new at-grade roundabout adjacent to Fathom Line would provide a connection between Fathom Line and the relief road. The route option would then Prepared for: Department for Infrastructure (DfI) Roads AECOM v Newry Southern Relief Road Department for Infrastructure (DfI) Roads Project number: 60472927 pass up the slope of Fathom Mountain in a north-westerly direction, crossing Flagstaff Road and the Belfast-Dublin railway line before connecting into a re-configured roundabout at the A1 Ellisholding Junction. Yellow Route proposes a new at-grade roundabout on the A2 Warrenpoint Road, crossing the Newry River at Rough Island where a further new at-grade roundabout would provide a connection to Fathom Line. Fathom Line itself would be locally upgraded where necessary before a new roundabout, north of the Red Route crossing, would provide a connection to the relief road. The alignment would then follow the same horizontal geometry as the Red Route. Blue Route Options Due to the challenges of steep topography and environmental designations associated with the Blue Route (Corridor 5 at DMRB Stage 1), three alignment variations of this route were developed during the DMRB Stage 2 process to optimise the earthwork balance and minimise impact on Benson’s Glen. Initial assessment of these variants identified significant variation in; the alignments required both horizontally and vertically; the consequential earthworks balance; and the associated cost estimates. It was therefore decided to present the assessment of these variants as route options in the DMRB Stage 2 assessment process to provide visibility of the sensitivity in achieving: a reasonable vertical gradient for the alignment; an acceptable earthworks balance; and a limited impact on environmentally sensitive areas and existing residential properties. Blue Route Option 1 achieves a better earthworks balance and adopts a gradient of 6%. However, it impacts on Sites of Local Nature Conservation Importance (SLNCIs) and areas of Long-Established Woodland, including Benson’s Glen. Blue Route Option 2 adopts a gradient of 6% and minimises the impact on the SLNCIs and areas of Long-Established Woodland. However, the topography of the revised horizontal alignment requires a significant volume of imported fill material to achieve the desired vertical profile. This has the consequential impact of a higher scheme cost estimate. Blue Route Option 3 is on the same horizontal alignment as Blue Route Option 2 and similarly minimises the