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WorkshopAugust 2014Process of approvalState Significance Infrastructure ApplicationDirector General provides environmental assessment requirementsPreparation of EISDepartment of Planning and Environment reviews EISPublic exhibition of EISDepartment of Planning and Environment sends submissions to RMSRMS prepares a submissions reportDepartment of Planning and Environment prepares assessment reportMinister for Planning decides to approve the project and conditions of approval23About NorthConnexIn 2012, the NSW Government received an unsolicited proposal from Transurban and the Westlink M7 Shareholders to design, construct, operate, maintain and finance the NorthConnex project The unsolicited proposal process provides the opportunity for NorthConnex to be delivered in a manner that offers value for money to Government and built much earlier by the private sector for the benefit of the NSW community3

4About NorthConnexNorthConnex would link Sydney's north to the Orbital road network and form part of the National Highway route. It comprises of:

Twin nine-kilometre long tunnels (built for 3 lanes, marked for 2)A southern interchange at the Hills M2 Motorway/Pennant Hills RoadA northern interchange at the M1 Pacific Motorway/Pennant Hills RoadTie-in work on the M1 Pacific Motorway and integration work on the Hills M2 MotorwayVentilation outlets at the southern and northern interchangeTwo mid-tunnel support facilitiesA motorway control-centre at the southern interchangeProvision for future east facing connections to the Hills M2 Motorway45Stakeholder issuesDuring the engagement activities the following issues have been raised by stakeholders:Air qualityNoise and vibrationProperty values and acquisitionsOutlet and portal locationsHealth impactsLocal road disruption

56Northern outlet location6

Northern ventilation outlet within M1 Pacific Motorway road corridor7Air qualitySydney has very good air qualityTotal exhaust emissions from motor vehicles have decreased over the past two decades and are expected to continue to fall

An air quality assessment was carried out in accordance with the Approved Methods for the Modelling and Assessment of Air Pollutants (approved Methods) (DEC, 2005a)7

8What does this mean?Wood fires are by far the largest single source of particles from human activity In comparison heavy vehicle and light duty diesel exhaust contribute 5.3 and 2.2 per cent respectively

Petrol vehicles exhaust emissions contribute less than one per cent

8Source: Air emissions inventory for the Greater Metropolitan Region in NSW 2008 calendar year (EPA, 2012)

Human made particulate matter PM2.5 sources in Sydney9 EIS findings Air qualityAny changes in air quality are well below the established criteria for all key pollutantsModelling predicts an improvement of air quality along Pennant Hills Road Emissions from the northern and southern ventilation outlets would have a very small impact on local air qualityIn-tunnel visibility is predicted to be to be a clear air tunnel under PIARC guidelinesAnalysis demonstrates that in-tunnel visibility would be better than current and historical performance of the M5 East

9The air quality assessment concluded that across the project corridor there would be an overall net improvement in air quality as a result of NorthConnex

24-hour average PM2.5 in 202910EIS findings Air qualityAir quality in the vicinity of the project would be monitored for a specified time following openingAir quality within the tunnels would be monitored to ensure in-tunnel air quality is maintained

11EIS findings Health The health assessments included conservative assumptions. The air quality changes due to the ventilation outlets is negligibleThe calculated health effect is much smaller than the natural variability and would be undetectableThe assessment concluded that potential health impacts are essentially negligible near the ventilation outletsOverall, taking a significant number of vehicles, in particular trucks off Pennant Hills Road, and managing emissions through the tunnel ventilation system, would lead to a net benefit to health within the community11Conservative assumptions such as: calculated health outcomes based on an exposure to the worst-case possible concentration for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year for when the tunnel opens and in 2029

12 EIS findings - HealthThe calculated net benefit of the NorthConnex project is 10 times larger than the very small health risk of the ventilation outlets, with air quality on Pennant Hills Road likely to improve by up to 38%

The ventilation outlets do not present a measurable health risk to any members of the community including young children, the elderly and individuals with pre-existing health conditions.

1213 EIS findings 13 Secondary health impactsChanges in bronchodilator use (eg asthmatics):Southern ventilation outlet only increase of 0.07 days per yearNorthern ventilation outlet only increase of 0.1 days per yearNet impact of NorthConnex is positive, with a reduction of between 0.08 and 0.1 days per year

14EIS findings - TrafficExisting and future Pennant Hills Road conditionsPennant Hills Road currently carries up to 80,000 vehicles per day.Thirteen major intersections along the NorthConnex corridor: of these three are currently rated as highly congested, and four are susceptible to decreases in performance from a small growth in traffic demandWithout NorthConnex most intersections are predicted to be highly congested by 2019, and all but one by 2029

14Pennant Hills Road currently experiences significant congestion during the AM and PM peak hour periods

15EIS findings - Traffic Construction phase traffic impactDaily vehicle movements associated with the construction phase:Pennant Hills Road - 2,675 heavy and 1,240 light vehiclesM2 Hills Motorway - 686 heavy and 115 light vehiclesHeavy congestion is expected to continue on Pennant Hills Rd during constructionNote: one vehicle entering and then exiting the worksite is considered to be two vehicle movements1516EIS findings - Traffic (construction)Most construction traffic would be from the four worksites.Vehicle movements from these worksites would occur up to 24 hours a day, seven days a week during peak construction tunnelling workA Traffic Management Plan would be developed to minimise the impact of construction vehicles on existing traffic. The Project team would work closely with impacted residents and businesses to identify appropriate management strategies to minimise impact.Four work sites supporting tunnelling activities: southern interchange, Wilson Road, Trelawney Street and northern interchange

The traffic plans will include:Heavy vehicle movements outside of standard daytime construction hours would be restricted to areas with direct access to and from an arterial road (eg. Pennant Hills Road or the M1 Pacific Motorway) Mitigation measures include minimising construction traffic during peak hours and special events.

17Northern interchange traffic movements

VEHICLE MOVEMENTS AT CONSTRUCTION PEAKAMPMVehicle movements per day

vehicle movements Heavy vehicle52581140* Light vehicle2020200*

*One vehicle entering and the exiting the site is considered two movements. 18Compound sites

19EIS findings - Traffic (operational)Traffic has been assessed for an expected opening year in 2019 and a future year of 2029.The project will deliver general improvements in the performance of Pennant Hills Road particularly in 2019. Regulations will be implemented to ensure through trucks use the tunnel rather than Pennant Hills RoadOpportunities to further alleviate peak congestion on Pennant Hills Road (over and above the NorthConnex project) are under development to assist with the expected traffic volumes anticipated across Sydney by 2029.

In 2019 However, during peaks some intersections will experience varying levels of congestion20A detailed noise and vibration assessment has been carried out

Where possible, construction would take place during standard construction hours to minimise impacts

Acoustic treatments used at worksites to further mitigate noise levels

Respite measures would be identified for affected residents20EIS noise and vibration (construction)Above ground work, tunnelling and spoil transport will intermittently generate noise and vibration levels above the day and night goals (DECC 2011*) at some stage of the work. It is expected Hills M2 surface works will generate the majority of exceedances.

Construction compounds will generate noise impacts however onsite acoustic treatments will be designed to mitigate any acute impact on residential properties.

Tunnelling work would result in short duration exceedances of the night time ground-borne noise goals (up 10dBA above) at a total of 90 properties at various stages of the project.

Out of hours construction traffic is likely to result in exceedances of noise goals at residential properties near compounds however these will be subject to the restrictions noted earlier.

2021EIS noise and vibration (tunneling )Conservative assessment concludes tunnelling work may exceed night time ground-borne noise goals (up 10dBA above) at up to 90 properties (not all at once and for short periods) spread over various stages of work

Impact is short term (around one week) based on tunnelling rates

Respite and Relocation Protocol would be developed to assist residents unduly affected by construction noise and vibration

Pre-construction condition surveys will be offered to all properties and structures within 50 metres from the outer edge of the tunnels or within 50 metres of surface work

Ground-borne noise levels are difficult to predict due to the varying influences of geology and structure of buildings

Modelling predicts exceedances only in shallower tunnel sections.

Protocol under development for the provision of respite in accordance with the Interim Construction Noise Guidelines (DECC 2009). This would include alternative accommodation for highly affected receivers.

2122 EIS noise and vibration (operational)Measures would be put in place to mitigate predicted 2029 operational traffic noise levelsLow-noise pavement design to minimise noise levelsNoise monitoring would be carried out once operational to validate impacts and mitigation measures 10 existing noise walls would be replaced and the height of two walls will be extendedNew noise walls will be erected and a range of architectural acoustic treatments proposed129 properties eligible for architectural acoustic treatments (82 at the northern interchange and 47 at southern interchange/Hills M2 integration work).

22Of the 129 houses XXX are already suffering acute noise23Key design elements (Lessons Learnt)NorthConnex is considerably higher than the M5 tunnel (5.3m versus 4.6m) this assists with air circulation and dilution of emissions providing a better in tunnel experienceNorthConnex will be wider (built for three lanes marked for two) - this assists with air circulation and dilution of emissions providing a better in tunnel experienceUnlike M5, the ventilation system for NorthConnex will not re-circulate air from one tunnel to anotherGradient out of the tunnel is shorter and less steep than M5 reducing incidents of slow moving, labouring trucks which produce significantly higher emissions.Exit from tunnel is motorway to motorway minimising queuing within the tunnelSmoky vehicle camera installed from Day 1 acting as effective deterrent to stop defective trucks using the tunnel this has been successful on M5.2324EIS findings Safety and amenityMajor benefitsUsing NorthConnex rather than Pennant Hills Road, drivers would be FIVE times less likely to be involved in a crash and about FOUR times less likely to be involved in an injury crashTime savings for commuters, tradesmen and heavy vehicle operatorsFuel savings for heavy vehicle operatorsProductivity improvements for the state and Eastern seaboardQuality of life improvements from time savings and avoidance of up to 21 sets of traffic lightsNet reduction in emissions for residents living and working on Pennant Hills RoadRemoval of heavy vehicles from surface roadsReturn of local streets to local residents2425Timeline for construction25

*Subject to approvals and may change.IssuesCouncil focus is on northern portal area of the projectLocation of ventilation stacksNumber of ventilation stacksConcentration of pollutantsVibration issues with tunnel workTunnelling under housesConstruction traffic issues and impact on local roadsPossible heritage impactsBiodiversity impactsNoise impacts height of noise wallsPurchase of properties

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