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State Significant Infrastructure

Determination

Coffs Harbour Bypass

Coffs Harbour City

Current Status: Determination

Interact with the stages for their names

  1. SEARs
  2. Prepare EIS
  3. Exhibition
  4. Collate Submissions
  5. Response to Submissions
  6. Assessment
  7. Recommendation
  8. Determination

An upgrade of approximately 14 kilometres of the Pacific Highway from south of the Englands Road roundabout to the southern end of the Sapphire to Woolgoolga upgrade project. The project would bypass Coffs Harbour.

Attachments & Resources

Early Consultation (1)

Application (1)

EIS (16)

Response to Submissions (4)

Amendments (11)

Determination (3)

Approved Documents

Management Plans and Strategies (41)

Reports (39)

Independent Reviews and Audits (1)

Notifications (1)

Other Documents (11)

Note: Only documents approved by the Department after November 2019 will be published above. Any documents approved before this time can be viewed on the Applicant's website.

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Note: Only enforcements and inspections undertaken by the Department from March 2020 will be shown above.

Submissions

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Showing 21 - 40 of 186 submissions
Len Dunne
Comment
COFFS HARBOUR , New South Wales
Message
I have studied the document titled "Coffs Harbour bypass Project update - Environmental Impact Statement September 2019" Reference # RMS 19.1355.

I wish to make the following comments:

1. The By-pass proposed route does not extend WEST-ward far enough to ensure the future growth of the Coffs Harbour City to expand. Urban development pressure will in the next 10-20 years result in dwellings and other structures to be adjoining the proposed By-pass route. Subsequently, in the near future the City will face the same dilemma it now has with heavy traffic volumes passing through residential/urban regions. The proposed By-pass should have been planned for at least 10 kms WEST of the existing CITY limits.

However, it is appreciated the By-pass route will not be altered at this late stage. A great pity - and poor planning for a City that needs to grow.

2. The By-pass if constructed will not be operational within the next 5 years. During this period, much will change at the government level (Federal, State and Local), many residents will leave Coffs Harbour, new people will relocate to this City and the same will occur in business - some will leave, others will move to Coffs Harbour. Meanwhile the exiting Highway cuts the City into two separate zones and heavy traffic continues to increase. This results in a rapid decline of amenity at all levels - residential, business and transport commuting. Subsequently the RMS must address existing negative issues that currently confront the City (regarding the existing Highway route through the residential and downtown areas) and seek early changes to the existing Highway route to satisfy the requirements of the City. Such changes could include reducing the speed limit of the existing Highway from the Northern Beaches to the City downtown region to 60kph, introducing Round-abouts to major roads intersecting with the existing Highway (such as James Small Drive at Korora and the various Resorts NORTH & SOUTH of Korora), and the construction of acoustic barriers along the entire section of the existing Highway to reduce the noise levels currently impacting residential zones. Each of these changes could be constructed immediately and would be supportive to the longer-term plan of the By-pass project.

3. Acoustic barriers need to be incorporated into the proposed Highway By-pass plan from the Northern Beaches (Korora) to the Park Beach Plaza location. There are already acoustic barriers erected at the Korora School and at the Community Housing estate opposite and NORTH of Park Beach Plaza, but there are no barriers in place along this major residential corridor, i.e. from Korora School to Park Beach Plaza. If the By-pass proceeds (which will take at least 5 years to construct), there will still be significant commuter and heavy vehicle traffic using the Highway (existing Highway route) to and from the City. Over the next 5 years, traffic will increase significantly and after 5 years the level of traffic (and types of vehicles) using the existing Highway could be similar volumes to what is experienced today.

4. Given the cost of constructing tunnels versus open-cut routes (both in time and financial cost), plus the maintenance cost comparison, plus the fact that many heavy vehicle movements will be restricted from using tunnels, the RMS must review these cost/benefits closely.

5. It is noted that the By-pass is estimated to reduce the vehicle movements from the CBD by 12,000 vehicles per day. However, there is no analysis published of the current volume of vehicles using the existing Highway and a break-down of the type of vehicles - i.e. motor-cycles, cars, light trucks, heavy vehicles and heavy vehicles carrying restricted cargo (gas, petroleum, flammable products etc). And an extrapolation of these numbers in 5 years time - assuming the By-pass proceeds and takes 5 years to construct. Residents, resort operators and other businesses adjoining the existing Highway need to know these figures.
Nick Wright
Object
TOORMINA , New South Wales
Message
See attached letter.
Attachments
Name Withheld
Comment
KORORA , New South Wales
Message
I support the project but have one request. I live in Korora west and use the Luke Bowen overhead foot bridge several times a week to access James Small drive. this involves walking around Kororo school; a relatively short walk. Under the design, the bridge has been moved north and the exit will be near Russ Hammond Close. It will be a much longer walk to access James Small Drive. I request that a path be created from the bridge egress to Russ Hammond Close so that people will be able to have quick access to James Small drive.
Name Withheld
Comment
KORORA , New South Wales
Message
Thank you for the opportunity. Three points:
1. Great to see the walk/cycleway on the local road opposite our home. But it does not go anywhere at the southern end. Can you make representations to the local council to continue the walk/cycle track over McAuley's Headland to link with the cycleway down to Sawtell?
2. The most important point is to re-configure the norther exit from CH at Korora Hill interchange. The present one has added a light system so for Korora and Sapphire residents this is an EXTRA set of traffic lights for us to negotiate. Surely not given the present opportunity to modernise and make more safe.
3. If I read the map correctly, Opal Boulevard will be re-configured so that there will be a loss of the northern end avenue of mature fig trees on the present Opal Boulevard. That seems a pity. Can the new entrance include a new avenue of figs to link with the present avenue?
Anne and Adrian Rhodes
Comment
NORTH BOAMBEE VALLEY , New South Wales
Message
Attachments
Crown Land
Comment
Grafton , New South Wales
Message
Good afternoon
As requested, please find attached comments on potential impacts to Crown Estate, based on the footprint of the new Coffs Harbour bypass.
Please note - Crown Lands staff were not available to attend the EIS briefing on 19th & 20th September.
Any Crown Land required for the bypass should be formally acquired. Please refer any queries to the Crown Land acquisitions team - [email protected]
If you require any further clarification, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Thank you
Attachments
Name Withheld
Object
KORORA , New South Wales
Message
I object to the project in the section where the existing residents that live in Korora Basin the use the southern exit of Old Coast Road. The design is adding 2km for each return journey home to the road structure for any travel into Coffs Harbour for the 500 residents and the there visitors. Also from what i have seen we are been placed onto a side road which will be 60kmph and cannot re-join the hwy. So your design is adding about 365,000km per year to the residents of the valley that wish to here access to Coffs Harbour from the new design. Also you are losing all the residents time and not making peoples lives better or increasing the productivity of residents or its visitors. This area which is Residential A has been earmarked by the State Government for higher density in the future. What I'm lead to believe is will be rezoned to accommodate 5000 residents which will compound the time and distance waste over the years and into the future. We must be able to move south directly under the new highway and not go north to head south. For the sake of making the project cheaper the increased productivity of the people will far out weigh the cost over time. The reason you do not have 500 residents sending submissions is they are too busy working paying tax to know you are about to make there lives and pocket worst off.
Jenifer Moor
Comment
COFFS HARBOUR , New South Wales
Message
I very much support this project provided it includes at least 3 tunnels and also if it is a construct only contract not design and construct.
I would not be happy if the project evolved to the point of deviating from our expectations as set out in the project update. This is why I would only support a construct only contract and not a design and construct contract.
Name Withheld
Comment
COFFS HARBOUR , New South Wales
Message
I refer to the EIS Chapter 6, Page 39
2-way daily average volume of traffic on Coramba Road (Shephards Lane to Bypass)

1. The forecast increase is 600vpd over 8 years. I submit that, once drivers realize they can avoid all traffic lights to enter the CBD by using the Coramba Road exit off the Bypass, Coramba Road traffic will increase much more than the forecast. This road currently struggles to handle peak hour traffic from increasing local development and western villages.

2. If the forecast is for traffic between Shephards Lane and Robin Street to increase by 500vpd over this period, will this mean an increase in traffic by 100vpd on Shephards Lane? Shephards Lane is already congested in peak periods.

3. I am concerned regarding the increase in noise, dust and traffic during construction, over the (at least) five year building period.

I look forward to your response. Regards.
Brian Betts
Support
COFFS HARBOUR , New South Wales
Message
Firstly let me point out this project is not a bypass it is a ring road. Ring roads by their very nature our extremely close to major residential and commercial populations and therefore require a higher degree of planning & design so as not to severely impact the people residing close by.
The current EIS is an excellent example of planning & design which meets the requirements of local people residing in the area because it doesn't have as great an impact visually as cuttings, deals with noise pollution acceptably and moves traffic out of the Coffs Habour CBD.
The State Government is encumbered to ensure the EIS as presented is what is actually constructed to meet the amenity requirements of the community. Therefore it would be totally inappropriate for the State Government to enter into a design and construct contract to build this ring road without very clear parameters around the non negotiable attributes of tunnels and noise abatement designs as detailed within the EIS. If this design specific to the EIS is not what is delivered than State Government can expect a community backlash the likes of which they have never experienced before.
Dorrigo Urunga Bellingen Bicycle Users Group (DUBBUG)
Support
RALEIGH , New South Wales
Message
The bypass roadworks south of the Englands Road interchange should extend back to Lyons Road so as to include a suitable breakdown/safety/bicycle lane in both directions along the existing motorway. Currently the highway between Englands Road & Lyons Road does not include a breakdown/bicycle lane. This is a poor oversight when that section of the highway was upgraded.
Once the dual carriage highway is complete, it will be strange to think that there will be just two sections in the whole highway from Raymond Terrace to the Queensland Border, and beyond, that won’t have a breakdown/cycle lane i.e. the stretch between Lyons Road & Englands Road; and Urunga Interchange to Mailman’s Track Interchange. The limited shoulders on the section between Lyons Road & Englands Rd is currently very poor - a steel safety barrier runs right to the edge of the motorway. RMS might argue there is a separate goat track, hmm bike/pedestrian path (on the east side of the highway only) that is unkempt, dangerous with roots, and blind corners, etc. It is mostly unused by keen cyclists/commuters as it is dangerous to use.
The motorway currently operates at 100 km/h in this section. Many vehicles (especially trucks) go faster, as the speed changes to 110 km/h south of Lyons Road. There are currently no shoulders for police, safety vehicles, or breakdown to be on the side of the motorway.
In addition, there is a dangerous entry onto the motorway at the BP service station at Sawtell Road interchange. The additional lane is required to safely merge traffic heading south from this service station.
Given the proximity of the current poor state of the shoulders on the Pacific Highway connecting from Lyons Road to the Coffs Harbour Bypass, this section should be included to be upgraded as part of the bypass project.
Attachments
Name Withheld
Comment
COFFS HARBOUR , New South Wales
Message
After reading the EIS and its effect on NCA16 I am concerned with sound levels after the completion of the proposed sound barriers. Before the sound barriers there is 122 residents that will be subjected to above the recommended dB reading. After the sound barriers are installed this will drop to 93 residents above the recommended dB reading. This is a reduction of 23.77%. Compared with NCA06 with a reduction of 61.1% and NCA18 with a reduction of 59.5% after sound barriers are installed, there is a problem with the proposed sound barriers for NCA16.
After visiting the Coffs Harbour Bypass Display Office and talking with a project team member, the proposed sound barrier for the railway bridge will be a see-through. low partition on the southern side of the bridge and the proposed sound barriers either side of the bridge are only thin, vertical walls. This is the reason why only a 23.77% reduction of residents above the recommended dB reading will be achieved.
Would you please redesign the sound barriers between Shepards Lane, the North Coast Railway Bridge and to the Shepards Lane Tunnel to reduce the noise impact on NCA16 and also the residents that are south of the gully that the sound will funnel along.
jennifer jenkins
Comment
Coffs Harbour , New South Wales
Message
I live at 391 Coramba Road.
I am concerned about Road Safety for this section of Coramba Road.
Stopping sight distances are already short and dangerous, this 1.6 km at the front of my property has already been designated as dangerous with Federal Black Spot funding
in 2014.
My concerns are that the current design will make this section of road more dangerous and substandard.
Name Withheld
Comment
URUNGA , New South Wales
Message
As the current route is something like 15 years old and Coffs has extended to the west, this must have been foreseeable as Coffs cannot expand anywhere else. the real Coffs Harbour bypass needs to go out west near Coramba and not circle Coffs Harbour as the current plan does. The current plan is a Coffs link road and the man in the bypass information office had the nerve to tell me the bypass is mainly for the locals! This is not correct of course.
yes to tunnels
yes to a low noise surface on all of the new Highway
yes to sound barriers all along the new Highway construction, not only on sections of the new highway, sound barriers should be designed to be SOUND ABSORBING.
Yes to a contact for construct only
No to a construct and design contract
The Korora turn off is a design mess, and I know the road designers are working on simplifying this, this must be achieved for lower cost, and most importantly for improved safety and a much simpler turning on and off the highway and surrounding roads
the State Government should look at moving the train line to go beside the highway, moves train line from rising sea levels, removed train line from winding around the long way around Coffs
jill woodlock
Comment
COFFS HARBOUR , New South Wales
Message
1. The contract should be for "construct only" and not design and construct so that the successful contractor cannot change things that the community wants and expects.
2. The design of the Coramba Road Interchange needs to be re-designed into a "donut" overpass which could greatly reduce the footprint, keep the road further away from existing residents in the Roselands Estate and cost considerably less to construct.
3. The impact of increased traffic noise needs to be monitored by an independent noise expert.
4. Remedial work on houses going to be impacted by increased traffic noise and construction noise should be carried out pre project and not after it is all finished.
James Woodlock
Comment
COFFS HARBOUR , New South Wales
Message
The contract MUST be "construct only" not design and construct so that we know exactly what we are getting.
We need an independent noise assessment before, during and after construction and mediation on current differences.
The design of the Coramba Road interchange needs to be re-assessed. A less intrusive design such as one donut over the bypass would have a smaller footprint and have less of an impact on the nearby residential areas of West Coffs Harbour.
Remedial work re noise abatement needs to be done before construction on the bypass even starts.
Kevin R Oxenbridge
Comment
COFFS HARBOUR , New South Wales
Message
Attachments
Dorothy Budd
Support
KORORA , New South Wales
Message
Please refer to the uploaded submission
Attachments
Name Withheld
Object
EMERALD BEACH , New South Wales
Message
We have been planning to retire on our property on the corner of Coachman's Close and Fernleigh Ave, Korora. Our plans include a house including a flat for our daughter who has a disability, to assist in her independence, so have concerns about the proximity of the proposed underpass and access road adjacent to it, imposing on our privacy and the noise and safety impact on residents. We have access to our property via Coachman's Close, which is appreciated, thank you, as the proposed access road and new highway will be constructed further to the west, but we are still very worried.
The current plan intends the access road from West to East under the Highway (”underpass”) aimed directly to our property. Not only will this mean vehicle headlights will cause persistent blinding glare in our house, but unavoidably there will be vehicles which will miss the turn onto the access road and continue directly into our house. This happened in Melbourne on the 13th October 2019. A “P” Plate driver was driving through a roundabout in a 60km/hr zone, fell asleep and launched off the kerb and went straight through the front of a brick house causing extensive damage. No drugs or alcohol were involved, fatigue was the cause.
We request you redirect the underpass north and in line with Fernleigh Ave. We also request you build a sufficiently high and sturdy solid barrier wall between Coachman’s Close and the access road East of the underpass. This would alleviate visible glare, noise and prevent vehicular access. Without this protection you will be putting the safety of us and our neighbours at risk and adversely affect the peaceful lifestyle in our area. We also believe there should be provision of green landscaping in front of the wall. As it stands, you are replacing a green outlook with a view of a service road, traffic and the side of a Motorway.
We are also concerned about the redirection of traffic onto access roads whilst the proposed new highway is being constructed (usually over a 3-4+ year period). Accidents and/or fatalities will be, unfortunately, inevitable, as experienced in the Sapphire to Woolgoolga bypass, and more recently the Woolgoolga to Ballina bypass where two trucks collided near Halfway Creek on Saturday 3 September 2016, in a 60 km/hr road works zone, resulting in a fatality and the semi trailer crashed through the guardrail and down an embankment. The embankment, in this case, would be our house. This is a major concern and consideration to the protection of ourselves and our neighbours both during construction and after completion must be a priority.
Anticipating bus travel arrangements to and from Coffs Harbour requires access from both sides of the highway, will there be safe pedestrian access?
We appreciate your assistance for much less imposition on privacy, visible glare and noise, but improved safety impact on residents and students.
We look forward to your response.
Opal Cove Resort
Object
Korora , New South Wales
Message
COFFS HARBOUR BYPASS OBJECTION

Opal Cove Resort
Korora
Coffs Harbour 2450

16th October 2019

Attention Director – Transport Assessments
Planning and Assessment
Department of Planning Industry and Environment
G P O Box 39
SYDNEY NSW 2001

Coffs Harbour bypass: SSI -7666 - OBJECTION

Dear Sir/Madam,

On behalf of the company, I hereby raise formal objection to the Coffs Harbour bypass option for our property’s (Opal Cove Resort) entrance.

Opal Cove Resort is the largest resort in Coffs Harbour, we have been trading for over 30 years and provide employment to a large number of families and inject a lot of revenues to the local Coffs Harbour Community. We are concerned that the current Coffs Harbour Bypass plans will detrimentally affect the resort to the point of completely crippling the business and reducing the value of the property itself.

This option will completely cut off direct access to the resort from the Pacific Highway in both directions and the new proposal involves a convoluted turnoff and complicated series of turns to find our property.

The Pacific Highway plays a very important role in us picking up business as our signage and entrance will no longer be visible from the highway and potential clients will find it much harder to know where we are or even find our entrance.

This will greatly impact on the financial trading’s for the resort as we rely quite heavily on the passing drive-in trade.

We have also been informed that the works will be carried out gradually over a minimum two-year period directly in front of our entrance meaning difficulty for our clients to find and more importantly access our property, which will further have impact on our ability to trade as a lot of clients may just decide it is too hard and decide to go to one of our competitors and this will affect us further financially as well.

Further to this we are the largest Conference Centre with on-site accommodation on the Mid North Coast. We will therefore also lose a large percentage of conference business during this period of works as well as after completion due to issues with access to the property.

We will undoubtedly have conference groups electing to host their conferences in other cities and areas resulting in a drop in spend in Coffs Harbour as a whole which will affect the economy of the area.

We find that the turnoffs to access the property seem confusing and are sure that conference groups, corporate travellers and holiday maker who will not want to have to negotiate their way through single lane two-way controlled traffic points will elect to stay elsewhere, or with one of our competitors who are more easily accessible. We envisage huge impact to our annual turnover for ourselves as well as the region

This proposed option shows a relocation of our entry driveway which will involve cutting out and removal of some 16 well established Ficus trees that have been there for almost 30 years and run down both sides of our driveway entrance.

This has been a key feature to the resort and gives the resort that “wow” factor that cannot be replaced easily.

Further to this, the proposed option with the added southbound access lane and the required flood mitigation pond and relevant drainage will effectively cut out our 6th green and the entire 6th hole of our 9 hole golf course.

It will also cut out the existing 5th hole teebox and half of the 5th hole itself. There is nowhere to relocate these two holes to, meaning we will have no option but to close the par 3 Golf Course, further impacting on the financial trading as well as the aesthetics and amenities for the resort.

We are informed that the proposed feeder road will actually run through where our current property entrance sign sits so this will have to be removed and we will be compensated.

We are also informed the RMS will not be putting up or allowing specific directional signage on the new section of the highway to be placed to direct northbound and southbound traffic to the relevant feeder lanes and ultimately our property so we in effect will no longer have anywhere to put a new entrance sign and will continue to lose potential passing by business to other competitor properties that are more easily accessible and seen.

We are also concerned that the new highway will place our property in a worse position in regards to flooding. We have been advised that the new highway has increased the chance of flooding to our property access road again affecting our business as well as reducing the value of our property

We understand the need for a bypass but cannot accept the impact this section of the bypass will have on our business in its current proposed form, we would like to see a more simplified access to our resort as this will affect not only the livelihood of the owners of the resort but also over a hundred families that are employed by the resort directly and also the economy of the region due to loss of business.

Yours sincerely
Guy Perotti
General Manager
OPAL COVE RESORT

Pagination

Project Details

Application Number
SSI-7666
EPBC ID Number
2017/8005
Assessment Type
State Significant Infrastructure
Development Type
Road transport facilities
Local Government Areas
Coffs Harbour City
Decision
Approved
Determination Date
Decider
Minister

Contact Planner

Name
Daniel Gorgioski