Frequently asked questions

Transcription

1 DECEMBER 2013 Frequently asked questions Q. What is the M1-M2 project? A. The proposed M1-M2 is a tolled motorway linking the M1 Pacific Motorway (formerly F3 Freeway) at Wahroonga to the M2 Motorway at the Pennant Hills Road interchange at West Pennant Hills. The project will include interchanges to the north and south to accommodate connections at either end of the project. When complete, it will form part of the National Highway route. The M1-M2 link is recognised in the NSW Government s State Infrastructure Strategy and NSW Long Term Transport Master Plan as important infrastructure for freight traffic and the wider connectivity within NSW to reduce congestion and improve traffic flow along Pennant Hills Road. Q. What is the status of the project? A. In early 2012, the NSW Government received an unsolicited proposal from Transurban to manage the design, construction, maintenance and operation of the M1-M2. The unsolicited proposal is subject to a final binding agreement. Transurban and the Westlink M7 shareholders (the Project Sponsors), on behalf of Roads and Maritime Services, are seeking approval under Part 5.1 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EP&A Act) to construct and operate the M1-M2. Q. What are the key features of the proposal? A. The proposed project is expected to include the following key features: A tolled motorway link of twin motorway tunnels extending from the M1 Pacific Motorway at Wahroonga to the M2 Motorway, around eight kilometres in length There will be two lanes and a breakdown lane. The tunnel will be built as a three lane tunnel in each direction to provide long term capacity A northern interchange connecting with the M1 Pacific Motorway, the Pacific Highway and Pennant Hills Road A southern interchange connecting with the Hills M2 Motorway and Pennant Hills Road The clearance will be higher than other tunnels to reduce the risk of impact from overheight vehicles. Minimum gradients in the tunnel will enable trucks to maintain speed. Tie-in work with the westbound carriageway of the Hills M2 Motorway, west of Pennant Hills Road. Tie-in work with the M1 Pacific Motorway, extending north of Edgeworth David Avenue overpass, Wahroonga. A tunnel control centre that includes operation and maintenance facilities. Ancillary facilities for operation, such as electronic tolling facilities, ventilation systems as well as fire and life safety systems (such as emergency evacuation infrastructure). Modifications to service utilities and associated work at surface roads near the two interchanges. M1-M2 Frequently asked questions - December 2013 Page 1

2 Ancillary temporary construction facilities and temporary work to facilitate the construction of the project. The tunnel will supplement Pennant Hills Road by adding another four lanes of capacity. There will be no change to the configuration or capacity of Pennant Hills Road. All existing traffic movements will generally be maintained at each of the two interchanges during and after construction. Q. What are the benefits of the M1-M2 project? A. If approved, the link would reduce the number of vehicles particularly heavy trucks using Pennant Hill Road and as a result it would improve air quality, reduce traffic noise and heavy traffic along Pennant Hills Road. It would improve local amenity and connectivity for people living and working along Pennant Hills Road. The tunnel would allow motorists to bypass 22 sets of traffic lights east and westbound along Pennant Hills Road, providing more reliable and safer travel conditions on Pennant Hills Road. The tunnel is expected to deliver a minute travel time saving during peak hour and create opportunities for improving public transport on Pennant Hills Road. Further traffic monitoring is being carried out by Transurban and Roads and Maritime to calculate travel time savings and will be included in the final proposal. The M1-M2 would offer a solution to the challenge of moving freight between major centres on the east coast of Australia. Q. What is the cost of the proposal and who would fund the project? A. There is an in-principle agreement between government and the project sponsors on funding sources of the project. The construction budget for this project has been set at $2.65 billion. It will be funded by the project sponsors through a range of toll charges with a contribution from the NSW Government and the Commonwealth Government of up to $405m each. Q. Will there be a toll to use the tunnel and what would be the cost for cars and other vehicles? A. The M1-M2 concession arrangements have been designed to align with the M2 Motorway concession length as well as its car and truck toll prices. Q. What is the proposed project and key milestone? A. In early 2012, the NSW Government received an unsolicited proposal from Transurban to manage the design, construction, maintenance and operation of the M1-M2. The unsolicited proposal is subject to a final binding agreement. Transurban is managing the design and construct contract procurement process (the tender process). The preferred design identified through the tender process would form the basis of an Environmental Impact Statement. The tender and environmental assessment processes would be coordinated to facilitate balanced environmental, social, engineering and cost outcomes. This would be informed by community consultation. Tender bid submissions period closed at the end of November Following receipt of tenders a decision has been made to proceed to detailed assessment and a selection of a preferred tenderer and design. Construction would be expected to start in early 2015 but this will be dependent on obtaining planning approval. M1-M2 Frequently asked questions - December 2013 Page 2

3 The M1-M2 would be expected to open around Q. What was the preferred corridor selection process? A. In 2002, the Australian Federal Government commissioned an investigation to identify a preferred option for a new link through northern Sydney between the M1 Pacific Motorway and the Sydney Orbital Network (being the M2 Motorway and the M7 Motorway). The findings and recommendations for this investigation are detailed in the F3 to Sydney Orbital Link Study (SKM, 2004) (the 2004 report) which is available for viewing on the project website at To determine a preferred corridor, 17 broad corridors were firstly identified and grouped into three strategic corridor options (A, B and C) that provided feasible connections to the M1 Pacific Motorway and the Sydney Orbital Network. A number of the options within these corridors were suggested by members of the community during the consultation process. It was demonstrated that strategic corridor option A (which generally took the form of a southern extension of the M1 Pacific Motorway corridor to the Hills M2 Motorway) best satisfied the identified planning and project objectives. It was acknowledged at the time that option C (connecting the M1 Pacific Motorway to the M7) would potentially provide greater long term strategic benefits and should be considered as part of long term transport planning. Following the selection of strategic corridor A, further investigation resulted in the identification of four options for analysis. These options were publicly exhibited in July and October of 2003 and subject to a value management workshop. The preferred corridor, described as the purple option, was announced in May Q. Will other corridor options be considered as part of the current proposal? A. The preferred corridor, described as the purple option, was announced in May In 2007, an independent review of the 2004 report was carried out by the Honourable Mahla Pearlman AO at the request of the Federal Government. The review concluded that: The assumptions and data used in the 2004 report were valid and reasonable at the time of the study. Changes affecting land use and traffic flows since 2004 reinforce the selection of the purple option. Purple option remains the preferred option and should progress to the next stage of design and development. Future concept design should consider east facing ramps at the Hills M2 Motorway. A long term option connecting the M1 to the M7 should also be planned for. The key issues why the purple option was preferred included: M1-M2 was about 60 per cent less expensive than proposed orbital route which includes around 50km of new road. The purple option was found to be more effective in achieving a reduction in heavy trucks using Pennant Hills Road. Less property impact. The outer western Sydney Orbital has been identified in the NSW Government s State Infrastructure Strategy and NSW Long Term Transport Master Plan for future consideration in the long term (10-20 years). Only solutions along the purple corridor will be considered as part of the design development and environmental impact assessment processes. M1-M2 Frequently asked questions - December 2013 Page 3

4 Q. What are the details of the tunnel design and how many lanes will be built? A. There will be separate two lane tunnels for north and southbound traffic. To safeguard the tunnel for future expansion, the M1-M2 tunnel will be built for three lanes of traffic in both directions but marked for two lanes and a breakdown lane. Pennant Hills Road has six traffic lanes, which currently carries more than 60,000 vehicles including 10,000 trucks each day. The new tunnel is forecast to take between per cent of vehicles from Pennant Hills Road. A two lane (in each direction) tunnel can carry more than 100,000 vehicles per day. The M1-M2 tunnel will supplement and not replace Pennant Hills Road, by adding another four lanes of capacity. Unlike the M2 Motorway, the M1-M2 will not cater for the significant peaks of city-bound, and returning, commuter traffic. Traffic analysis demonstrates that two lanes in each direction of M1- M2 tunnel would provide adequate capacity for several decades. Tunnel clearance will be higher (around five metres compared to 4.6 metres) than other tunnels to reduce the risk of impact from overheight vehicles. Design details such as the depth, alignment and access points will not be known until the preferred tenderer has been selected. Q. Where would ventilation outlets be located and what would they look like? A. The location, number and design of ventilation outlets is not yet known and are subject to further design development. It is expected ventilation outlets would be positioned at or close to the exit points of the tunnel since this is the most effective location. The exact location and design of the ventilation outlets and emergency exhaust outlets will be confirmed once the preferred design has been selected. With the trend of vehicle emissions reducing in time, ventilation outlets for road tunnels are becoming less critical. However, the use of well-designed ventilation systems is still necessary to ensure conditions inside and outside the tunnel are appropriate. Ventilation outlets to disperse tunnel emissions would be an important component of the final design. In addition, smoke management systems to respond to incidents involving fire would also form part of the final design. Q. How will air quality along the tunnel corridor be affected? A. The tunnel ventilation system would be designed and operated to meet stringent in-tunnel, local and regional air quality criteria. The air quality inside the tunnel is expected to ensure users have a high quality experience and meet all relevant standards. The ventilation system must also ensure any impact to external air quality in the area around the tunnel is minimised and meets relevant standards. The NSW Government has established an Independent Tunnel Air Quality Advisory Committee chaired by the NSW Chief Scientist to review national and international practice and experience with motorway tunnels to ensure health and safety of the community and motorists. Q. How will air quality be monitored and assessed along the route? A. Project sponsors and Roads and Maritime are completing air quality monitoring to understand and record the existing air quality along the route. An air quality assessment for both construction and operation phases will be carried out to identify the construction and operation impacts of the project and to help in developing air quality mitigation measures. M1-M2 Frequently asked questions - December 2013 Page 4

5 An air quality management strategy will establish the ventilation system operation for the project. This will use a performance based approach. The tunnel ventilation system will take into account the intunnel ambient air quality, traffic conditions and external meteorological conditions. Q. How will emergency situations be avoided and managed? A. The project team has considerable expertise in safe tunnel design and operation. NSW Government, through Roads and Maritime, has managed the design, construction and operation of many tunnels here in Sydney and across the state. Transurban and its technical advisors have significant experience in the safe design, maintenance and operation of tunnels. As the design of the tunnel and the associated fire, life and safety systems develop, Fire and Rescue NSW is being consulted on the acceptability of the facilities. Tenderers have been instructed to ensure their design of the tunnel includes an array of best practice systems and equipment to deal with incidents. These include visual and audible communication systems; emergency escape passages, access for emergency vehicles to reach the incident; a water deluge system to suppress fire and a ventilation system to manage smoke. Q. How will truck safety in the tunnel be managed? A. Dangerous goods and overheight vehicles will not be allowed in the tunnels and will have to continue to use surface routes. The tunnel height will be designed with consideration of the connecting infrastructure (height limits on Westlink M7) to minimise possible incidents. Q. Will trucks still be allowed on Pennant Hills Road? A. Pennant Hills Road would be required to remain accessible to all vehicles and trucks required for local deliveries and pick-ups. Deterrents such as fines or tolls are being considered to restrict nonlocal trucks from using Pennant Hills Road. Q. Will there be any changes to surface roads, specifically Pennant Hills Road, during construction and after the tunnel is built? A. Some surface road work at each of the two interchanges may be required to build the connections to and from the project with the M2 Motorway, Pennant Hills Road and the M1. Roads and Maritime and the project sponsors will work with the Transport Management Centre (TMC), Transport for NSW and local councils to ensure disruption to the traffic network is minimised. Motorists will still be able to use Pennant Hills Road if they do not choose to travel in the M1-M2 tunnel. There will be no reduction of capacity on Pennant Hills Road after the tunnel is built. The anticipated reduction in the overall number of vehicles on Pennant Hills Road may provide opportunities for improved public transport, such as more reliable services. Q. Will property acquisition be required? A. The project team has started preliminary work to identify properties which may need to be acquired. Further information will be available once the design is determined. It is anticipated the property acquisition requirement for this project will have two categories: 1. Acquisition of the whole or part of a number of properties for construction sites and to enable the tunnel entry/exit points and ramps. 2. Acquisition of subsurface stratum from a number of properties to enable a tunnel. Following the selection of the preferred design, the project team will consult directly with owners of properties potentially required for acquisition prior to public exhibition of the design. M1-M2 Frequently asked questions - December 2013 Page 5

6 Negotiations with property owners to acquire the surface land requirements will be carried out with the objective of completing the purchase of the required by properties, on agreed terms in accordance with the owner s compensation entitlement as provided within the Land Acquisition (Just Terms Compensation) Act 1991 (Land Acquisition Act). A compulsory acquisition process may be required to complete surface acquisitions whereby agreement cannot be reached with the owners. Q. Will subsurface property acquisition for the tunnel be required? A. As compensation is generally not payable for subsurface acquisitions in accordance with the Land Acquisition Act, the acquisition of subsurface land would be carried out by a compulsory acquisition process. Further advice will be provided as soon as information is available about specific properties which may be impacted by an acquisition requirement for this proposal. Q. What noise and vibration impacts is expected and will this cause any damage to properties in the corridor? A. The tunnel will reduce the number of vehicles, particularly heavy vehicles, using Pennant Hills Road and lead to lower traffic noise and vibration levels along the corridor. While the tunnel is built, homes and businesses along the tunnel alignment may experience short term noise and vibration as the tunnelling passes their location and tunnel spoil is removed. The project team would work to reduce the impact to property from noise, vibration and spoil removal. Before to the start of tunnelling work there would be inspections of potentially affected properties to ensure the pre-construction condition of the property is recorded. Q. How and when will the community be consulted? A. The project team has started consulting with affected councils, the community, interest groups and other stakeholders. Newsletters to keep the community informed about project developments and key milestones will be delivered to households in and around the study area and to everyone who has asked to be on the mailing list. A comprehensive community and stakeholder involvement plan has been designed to encourage community participation and provide opportunities to become involved. Activities and public displays would be promoted and advertised before the actual dates. Q. How will the proposal be assessed for environmental impact? A. The current proposal will be assessed under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EP&A) by the Minister for Planning. Experience from similar road tunnel projects such as the Lane Cove Tunnel demonstrate careful planning and good design can deliver tangible benefits for congested road corridors such as Pennant Hills Road without unduly impacting the surrounding community. The project team will work with government agencies, environmental experts and the community to reduce any likely impact on the local environment. The preferred design identified through the tender process would form the basis of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The procurement and environmental assessment processes will be coordinated to facilitate balanced environmental, social, engineering and cost outcomes. M1-M2 Frequently asked questions - December 2013 Page 6