In all options there are other considerations such as traffic volumes and movements, impacts on nearby residents (noise vibration, visual, street lighting and headlight impacts), impacts on native plants and animals and construction impacts (amount of material required, traffic staging and program delivery). Many of these considerations are similar across all options. Refinements to the preferred Option 2 are being investigated to reduce these potential impacts.
These improvements will be assessed in the environmental assessment.
Roads and Maritime values your input. The project team will be available at a community drop-in session to answer questions and receive input. There will be no formal presentation provided so community members can visit at any time during the session.
All stakeholder and community input will be considered during the preparation of the environmental assessment for the preferred option. This feedback and any proposed mitigation measures will be included in the environmental assessment on the ramps which will be submitted to the
Department of Planning and Environment for approval. If approved the ramps are proposed to be built as part of the project.
Please contact the Community Relations Team on the phone and email listed below or drop by the Community Display
Centre to speak to them directly.
The Community Display Centre is located at 124 Albert
Drive, Macksville.
Please send your comments by Monday
12 October 2015 and for further enquiries contact the Community Relations team:
Phone: 1800 074 588 (24 hours)
Email: community@afjv.com.au
Web: www.rms.nsw.gov.au/pacific
Post: Warrell Creek to Nambucca Heads
Pacific Highway upgrade
Community Relations Team
PO Box 254
MACKSVILLE NSW 2447
If you need help understanding this information, please contact the Translating and Interpreting
Service on 131 450 and ask them to call us on
1300 761 923.
You are invited to speak with the project team at
Macksville Senior Citizens Centre on:
Tuesday 6 October 2015 between
4pm to 7pm
If you are unable to attend but would like to meet with the project team phone 1800 074
588 to arrange a suitable time.
Privacy
Roads and Maritime Services (“RMS”) is subject to the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (“PPIP Act”) which requires that we comply with the
Information Privacy Principles set out in the PPIP Act.
All information in correspondence is collected for the sole purpose of assisting in the assessment of this proposal/ delivering this project. The information received, including names and addresses of respondents, may be published in subsequent documents unless a clear indication is given in the correspondence that all or part of that information is not to be published. Otherwise RMS will only disclose your personal information, without your consent, if authorised by the law. Your personal information will be held by RMS at insert office address. You have the right to access and correct the information if you believe that it is incorrect.
September 2015
RMS 15.358
Artist impression of the bridge over the Nambucca River
The proposed ramps would include a northbound on-ramp onto the highway, a southbound off-ramp from the highway and a median cross-over facility to enable emergency vehicles
(including ambulances stationed at North Macksville) to travel north and south on the highway.
As these ramps are not currently included in the approved
Warrell Creek to Nambucca Heads project, planning approval will need to be obtained before being built. An environmental assessment will be prepared on the preferred ramp option.
The assessment will describe the proposal, potential impacts and mitigation measures that will be put in place. The assessment will also include a detailed description of how the north facing ramps may be built and how they would function once built.
Inclusion of additional ramps and a median cross-over will:
• Improve connectivity between Macksville and areas to the north, particularly between Macksville and
Nambucca Heads
• Allow both northbound and southbound traffic to stop at
Macksville with only a short diversion, in conjunction with the Bald Hill interchange
• Improve access and response times for emergency services
(including between north side of Nambucca River to south of the river and the Macksville District Hospital).
A technical review has been carried out on three ramp options examining constructability, benefits and potential issues. Roads and Maritime are now seeking feedback on the preferred option.
As a result of the review, Option 2 has been identified as the preferred ramp option. See map inside page for details. An option assessment is also available in the Preferred Option
Report (September 2015) on the project website or by contacting the project team.
The preferred ramp option includes a realignment of Old Coast
Road, bridge over the upgraded highway, and north facing ramps that connect to the realigned Old Coast Road. Old Coast
Road, Letitia Close and the exit ramp would combine at a roundabout on the eastern side of the new highway.
• Existing intersection of Pacific Highway and Old
Coast Road retained
• Improves travel time to and from Macksville
• Provides greater traffic efficiency and better caters for future growth than Options 1 or 3
• Roundabout at the junction of the southbound exit ramp, the realigned Old Coast Road and
Letitia Close. This provides a safer and more efficient design than Options 1 or 3
• Bridge over the upgraded highway for Old
Coast Road
• T-intersection at the junction of Old Coast Road with the northern entry ramp
• Provision of bus stop improves bus service usability and safety.
To Sydney
Overbridge Old Coast Road South
Northbound on-ramp
To existing highway
Bus stop for
Letitia Close
New Pacific Highway
Southbou nd off-ram p
Not to scale Letitia Close
Option 1 is similar to the original design for the Project and includes a realignment of Old Coast Road over the upgraded highway and the north facing ramps to connect as simple T-intersections to the realigned Old
Coast Road. At the new intersections, priority is given to through traffic on Old Coast Road.
While there are benefits to this option, it is considered less suitable than Option 2 as:
• There are more safety risks within this design than
Option 2
• The road geometry and alignment is not as efficient as Option 2 and does not cater as well for future traffic growth.
To Sydney
Overbridge highw ay g
Letitia Close
Not to scale
Southb
Old Coast Road
Northbound on-ramp ound off-r amp
To Nambucca Heads
New Pacific Highway To Brisbane
LEGEND
Existing local roads
New Pacific Highway
Proposed roads
To Nambucca Heads
To Brisbane
LEGEND
Existing local roads
New Pacific Highway
Proposed roads
Option 3 is quite different from Options 1 and 2.
This option removes the requirement for a bridge over the upgraded highway.
Instead, a new connection for Old Coast Road is provided on the west side of the main carriageways and a section of Old Coast Road to the east is maintained to provide access to the southbound off ramp and to
Letitia Close.
While there are benefits to this option, it is considered less suitable than Option 2 as:
• There are more safety risks with this design than
Options 1 and 2
• The road geometry and alignment is not as efficient as Options 1 or 2 and does not cater as well for future traffic growth.
• Requires land acquisition from an adjacent property
• Requires a longer route for the school bus to service
Letitia Close.
New intersection with existing highway
Pac ific H ighw ay
LEGEND
Existing local roads
New Pacific Highway
Proposed roads
Old Coast Road acific Highway
Northbound
on-ramp
To Nambucca Heads
To Brisbane
Existing P
Not to scale
Letitia Close
Southb ound o ff-ramp