Mount Victoria to Lithgow Great Western Highway Upgrade Study Area Investigations and Corridor Identification 4. Study area considerations and constraints 4.1. Traffic and transport The transport infrastructure in the study area is dominated by the existing Great Western Highway, the Bells Line of Road and the Main Western Railway Line, although all have major limitations to their use as significant transport corridors across the Blue Mountains. The two roads are limited by the very steep grades, tight curves and limited overtaking opportunities. Rail capacity and use is constrained by freight and passenger rail having to share the same track. This, along with the steep grades, tight track curvature and limited opportunities for commuter trains to overtake freight trains, would prevent rail from substantially increasing the amount of freight it is able to transport across the Blue Mountains. In addition, Lithgow City Council recognises that there has been an increased reliance on road transport of freight due to the downgrading and removal of rail infrastructure within the region (Lithgow City Council, personal communication, 13 August 2008). While the upgrades of the Great Western Highway east of Mount Victoria have enhanced the highway’s efficacy, the route will remain an inefficient mountain crossing without upgrading the section of the highway between Mount Victoria and Lithgow. 4.1.1. The existing Great Western Highway The Great Western Highway in the study area is 18.4 kilometres in length. Travel speeds along the existing Great Western Highway are relatively poor for rural conditions and vary considerably along the route depending on the amount of overtaking lane provided and adjacent development. Speed limits along the existing highway range from the 40 km/hr heavy vehicle speed limit on the steep descents of Victoria Pass and the River Lett Hill, 40 km/hr school zone through Mount Victoria, 60 km/hr through Mount Victoria and on the descent of Victoria Pass and 90 km/hr from the base of Victoria Pass through to Lithgow (Cardno, 2007). The mean travel speed for light vehicles for the current route is 74 km/hr taking 13 minutes to travel. For heavy vehicles the speed is lower being 60 km/hr and taking 16 minutes to travel. The extra travel time is encountered predominately on River Lett Hill and Victoria Pass where heavy vehicle speeds are as low as 30 km/hr in either direction. Travel speeds are acceptable between Jenolan Caves Road and the base of Victoria Pass, generally within 10 km/hr of the 90 km/hr speed limit. They are poor for rural conditions on the two passes where the speeds are around 70 km/hr for light vehicles and less than half this for heavy vehicles. The steep grades and tight curves are the reason for the low speeds. The highway alignment reflects the severe terrain conditions of the region. River Lett Hill and Victoria Pass both involve a number of 45 km/h curves on steep (10 percent) grades. The best of the alignment is through the Hartley Valley section where the alignment is still marginal at a design speed of 90 km/h. The remaining length involves alignments varying between these two extremities. The urban area of Mount Victoria also involves sub-60 km/h alignments combined with narrow widths and intersections. The gradients are very steep, typically 10 percent averages over the main climbs with Victoria Pass having a section of 13.3 percent grade. This is the steepest section of classified road in NSW, and is the steepest section on any recognised freight route in NSW. Victoria Pass can be a significant impediment to trips between Lithgow and Mount Victoria for many truck drivers, caravan users and cyclists. The current crash rate on the Great Western Highway through the study area is 46.6 per 100 million vehicle kilometres travelled (mvkt). This is about 53 percent higher than the typical crash rate of 30.4 per 100 mvkt for a “2 lane non-divided carriageway, with auxiliary lanes” category. The current crash rate represents 156 crashes in the five years between 2003 PAGE 21 Mount Victoria to Lithgow Great Western Highway Upgrade Study Area Investigations and Corridor Identification and 2007, of which there were eight fatal crashes and 74 injury crashes. Of these, 24 percent were truck crashes – a greater proportion than the percentage of heavy vehicle traffic. Crashes are typically off-road in nature (40 percent), with the addition of many rear end crashes (22 percent) and head-on crashes (16 percent). Generally, the crashes are distributed throughout the route but with concentrations through Mount Victoria, on Victoria Pass, at Hartley intersections and on River Lett Hill. Browns Gap Road intersection has recently been reconstructed to address crashes at this location. 4.1.2. Traffic volumes in the region The Great Western Highway is the primary route crossing the Blue Mountains, whilst the Bells Line of Road provides a supplementary role, as highlighted in Figure 4-1, showing the comparison of the daily traffic volumes along each route. The Great Western Highway services the agricultural operations in the valley and provides an important link for the villages within the study area, such as Little Hartley. Light vehicle numbers show the greatest change along the route from Lithgow to Mount Victoria ranging from over 6,000 to over 10,000 vehicles per day. Combining these with the heavy vehicle volumes, and adjusting for axle pairs instead of actual vehicles, these correspond to annual average daily traffic volumes of 9,000 to 13,000. Volumes are relatively high for non-coastal rural conditions and generally increase to the east. Some additional traffic is picked up along the Great Western Highway, first from Jenolan Caves Road, then the Mount Victoria urban area and then the Darling Causeway, all of which generally have an easterly focus. Figure 4-1 Existing traffic volumes on Blue Mountains crossings Bells Line of Road Great Western Highway Heavy vehicle numbers are also high for rural state routes, although the percentage is lower than normal due to the increasing volume of light vehicles as this route approaches Sydney. Heavy vehicle numbers are 400 – 500 rigid trucks, 700 – 900 semi-trailers and 10 B-Doubles per day, yielding a 14 – 16 percent heavy vehicle content. There are no standard 26 metre B-Doubles as this is not an approved 26 metre B-Double route, principally because of the steep grades on this section of the route. Small numbers of 19 metre B-Doubles do legally operate on the route. PAGE 22 Mount Victoria to Lithgow Great Western Highway Upgrade Study Area Investigations and Corridor Identification The Sydney metropolitan area is the primary traffic generator and this continues to grow along with the major towns and agricultural activity of the Central West, which interacts with Sydney through this route. At a local level there is rural residential growth which will increase the volume and component of local traffic on the route. 4.1.3. Traffic volumes within the study area Between May and August 2008, traffic counts were undertaken on roads between Mount Victoria and Marrangaroo. Between Mount Victoria and Lithgow, traffic volumes along the existing Great Western Highway ranged from approximately 6,800 to 8,600 vehicles per day (vpd). Traffic volumes to the west of Lithgow reached as high as 13,200 vpd, whilst the section to the east of Mount Victoria had traffic volumes of approximately 10,200 vpd (Cardno, 2007). Annual average growth rates for the existing highway have been determined through an analysis of historical annual average daily traffic (AADT) data. This analysis indicates that generally the existing highway between Mount Victoria and Lithgow has experienced minimal growth or a decline in traffic between 1996 and 2005. As part of the Newnes Plateau alternative study, traffic growth modelling has been undertaken. This modelling indicates that in the absence of any alternative new highway route, growth to 2041 is anticipated to increase volumes on the existing highway west of Mount Victoria from around 9100 vpd in 2008 to between 12,900 and 16,700 vpd for low and high growth scenarios, respectively. 4.2. Biodiversity The following section outlines the ecological constraints and risks identified in the study area based on a review of background data, reports and aerial photograph interpretation. The data has been interpreted to describe and quantify the spatial distribution of baseline conditions by illustrating the proportion of the following: Individual vegetation types. Wildlife corridors. Endangered ecological communities. Aquatic habitats. Priority fauna habitats. Records of threatened and migratory species and endangered populations. An assessment of the conservation value for these biodiversity assets has been provided including a summary of the vegetation and habitats of conservation significance on a local, regional and state perspective (as defined under the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 (TSC Act) and national significance under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, 1999 (EPBC Act)). The data sources used in this review included: Atlas of NSW Wildlife (NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change accessed September 2008). Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act Protected Matters Search Tool (date accessed September 2008). Databases maintained by the NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change pertaining to priority fauna habitats and wildlife corridors. Threatened species publications and species recovery plans http://www.threatenedspecies.environment.nsw.gov.au Rare or Threatened Australian Plants (RoTAP) database (Brigg and Leigh 1996). Results of local environmental studies, including studies prepared by consultants, the Blue Mountains City Council, universities and other sources. PAGE 23 Mount Victoria to Lithgow Great Western Highway Upgrade Study Area Investigations and Corridor Identification 4.2.1.