The Project is located at the Pok Oi
Interchange (POI) in the Yuen Long region of the
The proposed scope and alignment of the
Project are shown in Figure 2.1a and described
as follows:
··
provision
of a single lane flyover (approximately 140m in length) adjacent to the
northbound carriageway of Pok Oi Flyover (POF) (denoted as Flyover A in Figure 2.1a and subsequent sections of this report);
··
construction
of a slip road (approximately 410m in length) connecting the northbound
carriageway of the ground level road of Yuen Long Highway (YLH) on the southern
arm of POR to the proposed flyover (denoted as Slip Road A in Figure 2.1a and subsequent sections of this report);
··
construction
of a slip road (approximately 100m in length) connecting the proposed flyover
to the northbound carriageway of the ground level section of YLH on the
northern arm of POR (denoted as Slip Road B in Figure 2.1a and subsequent
sections of this report);
··
construction
of a slip road (approximately 280m in length) connecting the southbound
carriageway of POF to the southbound carriageway of the ground level section of
YLH on the southern arm of POR (denoted as Slip Road C in Figure 2.1a and subsequent
sections of this report);
··
resurfacing
and re-marking of a stretch of the southbound carriageway (approximately 280m
in length) of the ground level section of YLH on the northern arm of POR to
increase the number of traffic lanes on the carriageway from three to four
(denoted as Road Resurfacing and Remarking A in Figure 2.1a and subsequent
sections of this report);
··
resurfacing
and re-marking of a stretch of the northbound carriageway (approximately 470m
in length) of the ground level section of YLH on the northern arm of POR (denoted
as Road Resurfacing and Remarking B in Figure 2.1a and subsequent sections of
this report);
··
construction
of a segregated left-turn lane (approximately 110m in length) at the northern
arm of POR (denoted as
··
associated
ancillary works.
An outline implementation programme of the
Project is provided in Annex A.
2.2
Designated Project Elements
An analysis has been conducted to identify elements of
the Project that qualify as Designated Projects (DPs) under the provisions of
the EIAO. The key focus is to analyse the Project
with reference to Item A.1, Schedule 2 of the EIAO that defines ‘a road which is an expressway, trunk road,
primary distributor road or district distributor road including new roads, and
major extensions or improvements to existing roads’ as a DP.
The first step of the analysis considers whether any
element of the Project qualifies as a DP by virtue of being a major extension
or improvement to existing roads under the definition of Item A.1, Schedule 2
of the EIAO. For this part of the analysis, it is
necessary to establish whether the road traffic noise impact due to any part of
the proposed roadworks will result in significant traffic noise impact. The traffic noise impact is considered
significant if the traffic noise level with the roadworks is greater than that
without the roadworks at the design year by 1.0 dB(A) or more. If any part of the project causes
significant increase in traffic noise, the whole project will become a DP. The detailed road traffic noise
predictions are presented in Section 4
and the assessment has confirmed that the traffic noise levels with any part of
the proposed works of the Project will not be greater than that without the
works at the design year by 1.0 dB(A) or more. As a result, the whole project is not a
DP by virtue of Item A.1, Schedule 2 of the EIAO.
The roadworks of the Project will involve the
construction of a number of discrete new road sections, including Flyover A,
Slip Roads A, B and C and the segregated Left-turn Lane A. These proposed new road sections are
classified according to the Road Classification System adopted by Transport
Department (TD). The classification
of the proposed new road sections, which was agreed with TD, is presented in Table 2.2a.
Table
2.2a Road
Classication for
|
Proposed New Road Section |
Classification |
|
Flyover A |
Rural Trunk Road |
|
Slip Road A |
Rural Trunk Road |
|
Slip Road B |
Expressway |
|
Slip Road C |
Rural Trunk Road |
|
Segregated |
Rural Trunk Road |
Table 2.2a indicates that each of the five new proposed new road
sections of the Project qualify as DP by virtue of Item A.1, Schedule 2 or the EIAO for being new roads which are
either an expressway or a trunk road.
The extent of road sections qualified as a DP are presented in Figure 2.2a.
Road
Resurfacing and Remarking A and B along stretches of the northbound and
southbound carriageways of Yuen Long Highway on the northern arm of POI will
not involve any change in the road nature, alignment, and traffic capacity
between the scenarios with and without the Project. In addition, no substantial construction
works will be required. These elements
of the Project do not qualify as DPs.
The Project will be physically connected with the
existing roads and considerations have been given to check whether the proposed
works would cause any material change in terms of other environment aspects,
such as landscape and visual implications and ecological impact, to the
existing roads that are exempted projects under the EIAO. No material
change to exempted projects has been identified.
Based on the above analysis, it is concluded that the
DP elements of the Project are those indicated in Table 2.2a.
Traffic forecasts were provided by
HyD. For the purpose of this EIA
Study, peak hour traffic flows for years 2011, 2016, 2021 and 2026 have been
forecasted for all major roads within 500m of the Project boundary. The traffic forecast employed for this
assessment was endorsed by the Transport Department (TD) (Annex B).
The construction of the Project is
scheduled to commence in December 2009 and to be completed in December
2011.
The
Project may have interactions with the following projects, which are currently
envisaged to be constructed at the same time:
··
Kau
Hui Development - Engineering Works in Area 16, Yuen Long Phase 2 - Extension
of Road L3 (Project No. 7721CL/A): The proposed project is for the extension of
Road L3 in Yuen Long Area 16 located next to the MTR West Rail Yuen Long
Station. The scope of the project
mainly comprises the extension of an exiting carriageway by about 220m and its
associated drainage and landscape works.
The construction works are expected to commence in 2008 for completion
in 2011.
··
Proposed
The locations of concurrent projects
within