F3 Freeway Noise Assessment Supplementary Noise ... - RTA

Noise Assessment
Supplementary Noise Assessment for
Proposed widening of the F3 freeway between Mt Colah and Cowan
RTA Operations and Services
Hunter Region
July 2006

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Document description
Environmental Technology Branch
Supplementary Noise Assessment: F3 Widening
Between Wahroonga and Hawkesbury River
Status
Date
Final 26/7/2006
RTA/Pub. 06.389
ISBN 978-1-921474-91-0
© Roads and Traffic Authority
Prepared by RTA Operations – Environmental Technology Branch
RTA Operations Directorate
AS/NZS ISO 9001
QEC 7443
Standards Australia

Supplementary Noise Assessment
F3 Widening Between Wahroonga and Hawkesbury River
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The NSW Roads and Traffic Authority’s Environmental Technology Branch (Monitoring) was
requested to provide an additional supplementary noise report to the noise assessment included
in the Review of Environmental Factors (REF) for the proposed widening of the current
carriageways of the F3 Freeway between Wahroonga and Cowan as a result of the comments
received from the community following public display of the REF titled “Cowan to Mt Colah –
Proposed Widening of the F3 Freeway” dated April 2006.
Additional noise monitoring was requested for residences at the following locations:
• 1/2, 7, and 8 Flanders Avenue, Mt Kuring-gai;
• 3C Alicia Road, Mt Kuring-gai
• 902, 904, 906 and 908 Pacific Highway, Berowra
• 18 Bayview Street, Mt Kuring-gai
• Mt Kuring-gai Public School (internal classroom measurements)
With the exception of the school, measurements were taken by placing each noise logger 1
metre away from the closest façade of their respective residence facing the road over seven
whole days with the microphone height set at 1.5 metres. Two classrooms considered to be
the closest to the F3 Freeway were chosen and indoor measurements were recorded during
the morning peak hour period with the microphone height also set at 1.5 metres placed in the
centre of each classroom. This report is to be used in conjunction with the noise assessment
already undertaken for the REF and provides noise measurements and conclusions only.
2.0 MEASUREMENT RESULTS
Table 1 contains a summary of the noise levels recorded from the long-term noise loggers
between Friday 9 th June and Friday 16 th June 2006 and the short-term measurements taken on
19 th and 20 th June 2006. Meteorological conditions during the measurement periods were
generally fine.
Table 1
Summary of Existing Traffic Noise Level for Nominated Residences.
TRAFFIC NOISE LEVEL dB(A)
Site Location
Day
Night
LAeq (15 hr)
LAeq (9 hr)
1/2 Flanders Avenue Mt Kuring-gai 66 63
3C Alicia Road Mt Kuring-gai 60 57
904 Pacific Highway Berowra 62 55
18 Bayview Street Mt Kuring-gai 62 59
902 Pacific Highway Berowra 62 56
906 Pacific Highway Berowra 58 52
908 Pacific Highway Berowra 55 49
7 Flanders Avenue Mt Kuring-gai 61 58
8 Flanders Avenue Mt Kuring-gai 64 62
EPA Criteria 60 55
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Supplementary Noise Assessment
F3 Widening Between Wahroonga and Hawkesbury River
The traffic noise level recorded at Mount Kuring-gai Public School in both classrooms 5 & 6 was
LAeq, 1hr = 39 dB(A). This currently satisfies the noise criterion of LAeq, 1hr = 45 dB(A) for existing
schools affected by noise from proposed roads outlined in Department of Environment and
Conservation’s (DEC) “Environmental Criteria for Road Traffic Noise” (ECRTN, May 1999),
which represents the NSW State Government’s current policy on road traffic noise.
As calculated from the noise assessment included in the REF, noise levels for the existing
alignment in 2007 would be the same as the existing traffic noise level in 2006. Taking into
consideration the traffic volume increase and the increase in percentage of heavy vehicles over
10 years, an overall increase of 2 dB(A) for the daytime and 2 dB(A) increase for the night time
period would be expected. Tables 2 and 3 include predicted traffic noise levels for the
residential dwellings for the future existing alignment (predicted 2007 noise level if the project
were not to proceed) and the proposed alignment in the design year 2017.
Table 2
Summary of Daytime Traffic Noise Levels for Residences in the
Vicinity of the Proposal (Existing 2007 and Proposed Alignment 2017).
SITE
LOCATION
2007
Existing
alignment
TRAFFIC NOISE LEVEL Leq, 15 hour [dB(A)]
DOES IT
2017
DOES IT
EXCEED
EXCEED
Proposed BASE
ALLOWANCE
alignment NOISE
NOISE GOAL
GOALS
ACUTE *
1/2 Flanders Ave Mt Kuring-gai 66 68 Yes No Yes
3C Alicia Rd Mt Kuring-gai 60 62 Yes No No
904 Pacific H/wy Berowra 62 64 Yes No No
18 Bayview St Mt Kuring-gai 62 64 Yes No No
902 Pacific H/wy Berowra 62 64 Yes No No
906 Pacific H/wy Berowra 58 60 No N/A No
908 Pacific H/wy Berowra 55 57 No N/A No
7 Flanders Ave Mt Kuring-gai 61 63 Yes No No
8 Flanders Ave Mt Kuring-gai 64 66 Yes No Yes
* Acute noise level is traffic noise being equal to or greater than 65 dB(A) for the daytime period.
Table 3
Summary of Night Time Traffic Noise Levels for Residences in the
Vicinity of the Proposal (Existing 2007 and Proposed Alignment 2017).
SITE
LOCATION
2007
Existing
alignment
TRAFFIC NOISE LEVEL Leq, 9 hour [dB(A)]
DOES IT
2017
DOES IT
EXCEED
EXCEED
Proposed BASE
ALLOWANCE
alignment NOISE
NOISE GOAL
GOALS
ACUTE *
1/2 Flanders Ave Mt Kuring-gai 63 65 Yes No Yes
3C Alicia Rd Mt Kuring-gai 57 59 Yes No No
904 Pacific H/wy Berowra 55 57 Yes No No
18 Bayview St Mt Kuring-gai 59 61 Yes No Yes
902 Pacific H/wy Berowra 56 58 Yes No No
906 Pacific H/wy Berowra 52 54 No N/A No
908 Pacific H/wy Berowra 49 51 No N/A No
7 Flanders Ave Mt Kuring-gai 57 59 Yes No No
8 Flanders Ave Mt Kuring-gai 62 64 Yes No Yes
* Acute noise level is traffic noise being equal to or greater than 60 dB(A) for the night time period.
Based on the overall increase of 2 dB(A) expected for the design year 2107, the traffic noise
level at Mount Kuring-gai Public School in both classrooms 5 & 6 would be LAeq, 1hr = 41 dB(A).
This also would satisfy the noise criterion of LAeq, 1hr = 45 dB(A) as outlined in ECRTN.
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Supplementary Noise Assessment
F3 Widening Between Wahroonga and Hawkesbury River
3.0 SUMMARY
3C Alicia Road Mount Kuring-gai
No mitigation measures would be required for this residence as noise levels would be within
allowance goals.
Flanders Avenue Mount Kuring-gai
The predicted traffic noise level at 7 Flanders Avenue Mount Kuring-gai would satisfy the
allowance noise goals and therefore, no mitigation measures would be required for this
residence.
Existing noise levels would become acute for residences 1/2, 2/2, 1/4, 2/4, 6 and 8 Flanders
Avenue Mt Kuring-gai in the design year 2017 (acute noise levels defined as LAeq, 15hrs greater
than or equal to 65 dBA for daytime and LAeq, 9hrs greater than or equal to 60 dBA) resulting in
the consideration of mitigation measures where feasible and reasonable. The existing noise wall
does not extend past these residences as the noise wall was built prior to the construction of
these dwellings. If mitigation measures in the form of a noise wall were to be considered,
the existing 4 metres high noise wall would need to be extended by 350 metres to cater for the
affected residences at Flanders Avenue. Based on a typical pricing for a timber noise wall of
$500/sq metre, the cost for this noise wall extension would be around $700,000. However if
mitigation measures in the form of architectural treatments were considered, then 6 residences
at $15,000 each would cost around $90,000.
18 Bayview Street Mount Kuring-gai
This residence does not currently experience acute noise levels but night time noise levels
would become acute in the design year 2017. However, it would not be feasible or reasonable
to provide further mitigation measures as the increase of 2 dB(A) would be barely perceivable
and the existing noise wall is already providing noise attenuation from the F3 freeway.
902-908 Pacific Highway Berowra
Noise levels satisfy allowance noise goals and therefore no mitigation measures are required.
Mt Kuring-gai Public School
Internal noise levels measured at morning peak hour in Classroom 5 and Classroom 6 are well
below criteria of Leq,1hr=45 dB(A), therefore no mitigation measures required.
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