sydney-city-centre-review-of-environmental-factors

Air quality sensitive receivers
There is a diversity of land uses within the study area (refer to section 6.5.2). They
include (high-rise) residential buildings, public open spaces and other sensitive
receiver types (eg educations facilities, health facilities and community support
facilities). Also the high number of pedestrians within the city centre means that the
whole study area should be considered sensitive to changes in air quality.
6.12.3 Potential impacts
Air quality impacts during construction
Dust dispersion
There would be potential for dust dispersion due to the high erosion and mobilisation
of the underlying soils (refer to section 6.8.2), combined with the prevailing local
meteorological conditions and wind tunnelling effect along the city’s roads.
Ground excavation work has the greatest risk and potential for generating dust. This
would occur as a result of undertaking proposed utility adjustments, drainage
modifications, road furniture relocation, and general signage, traffic signal and
lighting pole relocations. Table 3-3 to Table 3-7 and Table 3-14 describe the location
where these activities are planned to take place within the proposal footprint.
Consequently, there is at least one location in each work site where there is the
potential for dust to be generated.
The associated impacts would depend on the duration of work in each location. The
more major work locations (refer to the grey shaded cells in Table 3-3 to Table 3-7)
would be typically in place for longer than three months.
Despite this, any ground excavation work would be a small component of the
construction activities taking place at a given work site. As such, dust from these
activities would only be generated for a short period during the time the work site
would be under construction.
Dust would also be generated from a number of other activities (ie cutting, grinding,
sawing) as:
(Sections of) the road surface is ‘broken out’ (associated with all types of
improvement described in Table 3-2)
The footpaths, kerbs and intersections are adjusted (associated with the
corresponding types of improvement described in Table 3-2)
Other supporting work is undertake, the most notable of which would be
regrading and resurfacing the road.
Table 3-3 to Table 3-7 describes the locations where these activities would take
place.
The risk of dust mobilisation increases where excavations are exposed for long
periods and materials are stockpiled. As there would be a requirement to close off
each work site at the end of a shift and remove any material offsite to a construction
compound or laydown area the potential for dust generation within the proposal
footprint would be reduced. Stockpile management at the currently operational
construction compounds/laydown areas (refer to section 3.5.1) would be managed in
accordance with existing adopted practices to ensure dust propagation would be
limited. Dust could also be generated along the haulage routes, however the
Sydney City Centre Capacity Improvement 398
Review of Environmental Factors