Traffic Impact Assessment (RoadNet 2016)...RoadNet Pty Ltd has been engaged by Scolexia Pty Ltd...

Appendix D

Traffic ImpactAssessment (RoadNet 2016)

Traffic Impact Assessment

The Ranch

Poultry Production Complex – Farm 5

at

Tysons Road (nr Kidman Way),

Tabbita, NSW

for

Scolexia Pty Ltd

19 February 2016

The Ranch Poultry Production Complex – Farm 5 Traffic Impact Assessment

Tysons Road (nr Kidman Way), Tabbita for Scolexia Pty Ltd

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15022G Page 2 of 66 pages Date 19/02/2016

FINAL

Document Control Sheet

Document Status DRAFT FINAL

Version 1 2

Date 15 February 2016 19 February 2016

Issued to Adam Williams,

SLR Consulting

Adam Williams,

SLR Consulting

Prepared By Steve Manton Steve Manton

Reviewed By John Weatherall John Weatherall

Prepared by: RoadNet Pty Limited

8 Sixth Avenue

PALM BEACH QLD 4221

07 5525 7377

[email protected]

L12, 1 Pacific Highway

NORTH SYDNEY NSW 2060

02 9959 1080

[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]



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CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................................. 5

1.1 Background to Development Proposal ......................................................................................................... 6

1.2 Scope of Traffic Impact Assessment for The Ranch Farm 5 ...................................................................... 13

2. EXISTING CONDITIONS ................................................................................................................................... 14

2.1 The Site ...................................................................................................................................................... 14

2.2 Existing Road Network ............................................................................................................................... 17

2.3 Existing Land Use ....................................................................................................................................... 23

2.4 Existing Traffic Volumes ............................................................................................................................. 23

2.5 Background Traffic Growth ......................................................................................................................... 26

2.6 Existing Pedestrian and Cyclist Facilities ................................................................................................... 26

3. PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT ........................................................................................................................... 27

3.1 Development Description ........................................................................................................................... 27

3.2 Vehicular Access and Internal Road Layout ............................................................................................... 28

3.3 Pedestrians, Cyclists and Public Transport ................................................................................................ 28

3.4 Development Traffic Generation ................................................................................................................. 28

3.5 Future Design Year Volumes...................................................................................................................... 32

3.6 Heavy Vehicle Routes Servicing Development .......................................................................................... 34

3.7 Peak Activity Traffic Generation ................................................................................................................. 35

4. OTHER DEVELOPMENTS IN THE STUDY AREA ............................................................................................ 38

4.1 The Ranch Poultry Production Complex ..................................................................................................... 38

4.2 Other Developments ................................................................................................................................... 40

5. ACCESS REQUIREMENTS FOR THE PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT ............................................................. 44

5.1 Kidman Way / Tysons Road Intersection .................................................................................................... 44

5.2 Access Road and Driveway to Development .............................................................................................. 46

5.3 Internal Access Requirements .................................................................................................................... 47

6. CONSTRUCTION STAGING AND TRAFFIC ..................................................................................................... 48

7. IMPACTS ON ADJOINING ROAD NETWORK .................................................................................................. 50

7.1 Kidman Way ............................................................................................................................................... 50



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7.2 Heavy Vehicle Routes used by Development ............................................................................................. 51

7.3 Intersections ............................................................................................................................................... 52

7.4 Pedestrians and Cyclists ............................................................................................................................ 53

7.5 Impacts during Construction ....................................................................................................................... 53

7.6 Cumulative Impacts of Developments ........................................................................................................ 54

8. CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................................................................................. 57

9. RECOMMENDATIONS ...................................................................................................................................... 61

APPENDICES

APPENDIX A ............................................................................................................................................................... 62

PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT LOCATION AND LAYOUT ..................................................................................... 62

APPENDIX B ............................................................................................................................................................... 65

REVISED TRIP GENERATION FOR THE RANCH FARMS 1, 2 AND 3 (8-SHED ONLY) .................................... 65



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1. INTRODUCTION

RoadNet Pty Ltd has been engaged by Scolexia Pty Ltd (Scolexia), on behalf of VOAG 5 Pty Ltd (VOAG 5),

to prepare a Traffic Impact Assessment (TIA) for a proposed poultry development, referred to as The Ranch

Farm 5, located within a rural property in the area known as Tabbita in south-western New South Wales

(NSW). The site is located within the Carrathool Local Government Area (LGA) approximately 5.5 kilometres

(km) north-east of Tabbita, 19km south-east of Goolgowi and 26km north-west of Griffith. Access to the site

is proposed via the adjoining Tysons Road and Kidman Way (B87).

The location of the site is shown in Figure 1.1.

Figure 1.1: Locality Plan (Source: Google Maps)



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1.1 Background to Development Proposal

On 15 December 2015 Carrathool Shire Council (Council) granted Development Consents DA 2016/017, DA

2016/022 and DA 2016/023 to develop three poultry farms at Tabbita known as The Ranch Farm 1, The

Ranch Farm 2 and The Ranch Farm 3. Development consent is now being sought for two more poultry

farms, being The Ranch Farm 4 (the subject of a separate development consent) and The Ranch Farm 5

(the subject of this TIA). Collectively, The Ranch Farms 1 to 5 are being referred to as “The Ranch Poultry

Production Complex”.

Each of The Ranch Farms 4 and 5 will be the subject of a separate development application (DA) and a

separate Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to be lodged with Council. The applications for The Ranch

Farm 4 and The Ranch Farm 5 are expected to be lodged concurrently in February 2016.

The locations of the five farms that make up The Ranch Poultry Production Complex are shown in Figure 1.2

on the next page.

Indicative timeframes for the proposed commencement of construction and operational activities at the five

farms (subject to obtaining the relevant approvals) are as follows:

The Ranch Farm 1 – 8 sheds (approved) – commence construction: January 2016

– commence operation: July 2016

The Ranch Farm 2 – 8 sheds (approved) – commence construction: July 2016

– commence operation: January 2017



The Ranch Farm 4 – 16 sheds (proposed) – commence construction: July 2017




Access to the five farms comprising The Ranch Poultry Production Complex during their construction and

operation will be achieved via a new internal farm access road connecting to Tysons Road approximately

1km to the east of its intersection with Kidman Way. All movements to and from each of the farms will occur

via this new site access onto Tysons Road and the existing Kidman Way / Tysons Road intersection.



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1.1.1 Previous Development Applications and Associated Consent Conditions

Separate TIA’s were prepared as part of the previous development applications and EIS’s for The Ranch

Farm 1 (DA 2016/017), The Ranch Farm 2 (DA 2016/022) and The Ranch Farm 3 (DA 2016/023) which

examined the potential traffic impacts of each of these developments in isolation as well as the cumulative

impacts of The Ranch Farms 1 to 3 combined when operating concurrently in the future. The relevant

documents prepared are summarised below:

Traffic Impact Assessment – The Ranch Poultry Production Complex – Farm 1 at Tysons Road (nr Kidman Way), Tabbita, NSW (RoadNet, 18 September 2015)

Traffic Impact Assessment – The Ranch Poultry Production Complex – Farm 2 at Tysons Road (nr Kidman Way), Tabbita, NSW (RoadNet, 16 October 2015)

Traffic Impact Assessment – The Ranch Poultry Production Complex – Farm 3 at Tysons Road (nr Kidman Way), Tabbita, NSW (RoadNet, 19 October 2015)

Since The Ranch Farm 1 is intended to be developed first, the TIA for that development made a number of

recommendations in relation to the external road network, in particular the proposed site access onto Tysons

Road and the Kidman Way / Tysons Road intersection, to address the potential cumulative impacts of the

developments. It also made recommendations in relation to the internal road network required to connect

The Ranch Farm 1 development to Tysons Road.

The TIAs prepared for The Ranch Farm 2 and The Ranch Farm 3 were predicated on approval being

granted for The Ranch Farm 1 development, since they each share the same external access requirements

as The Ranch Farm 1 and also require use of the section of internal access road between the Ranch Farm 1

and the site entrance. Hence the applications for The Ranch Farm 2 and The Ranch Farm 3 sought

approval only for the additional sections of internal access road required between The Ranch Farm 1 and

The Ranch Farm 2, and between The Ranch Farm 2 and The Ranch Farm 3, respectively (once again the

application for The Ranch Farm 3 was predicated on The Ranch Farm 2 being approved and then developed

first). The recommendations made in the respective TIAs were tailored accordingly.

The Conditions of Consent issued for each of the approved developments are structured in the same way,

with the following requirements specified by Council and Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) in relation to

Roadworks for each of the development applications:

The Ranch Farm 1 (DA 2016/017)

34. ROADWORKS

The follow requirements have been prepared by Council and RMS and must be completed prior to the issue of a Final Occupation Certificate. CARRATHOOL SHIRE COUNCIL

a) Tyson Road is to be upgraded from the end of the sealed section to the access gate of The Ranch development (approximately 0.75km) with a finished 150mm gravel road-base at 6m wide and with a cross fall of 3%. All table drains are to be formed and cleared prior to the completion of the works.

b) B-double access will only be allowed on this road, after written application is received by Council and approval is given by National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR).



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Note: B-Double access would be granted at this stage only for their vehicles at the number that has been identified, any increase in traffic numbers may require the road to be sealed. c) The intersection of the access driveway with Tysons Road is to be located and the roadside maintained so as to provide the required Safe Intersection Sight Distance (SISD) in either direction in accordance with the Austroads Publications for the prevailing speed limit. d) As a minimum the driveway to Tysons Road shall be constructed as a "Rural Property Access" type treatment in accordance with the Austroads Guide to Road Design. The driveway is to be constructed to provide for two way movement for at least 100 metres from its intersection with Tysons Road and with a minimum width to accommodate the largest size of vehicle likely to access the subject site. e) As a minimum a sealed Basic Left Turn (BAL) treatment is to be constructed at the intersection of the access driveway with Tysons Road in accordance with the Austroads Guide to Road Design for the prevailing speed limit and shall be designed to accommodate road train vehicles. f) Any entry gate to the site shall be located at least 40m from the edge of seal of the carriageway of Tysons Road or at the property boundary whichever is the greater. This is to allow for the standing of large vehicles when gates are to be opened.

g) Where a proposed driveway intersects with a sealed road, the driveway shall be sealed from the edge of seal of the carriageway to the entry gate or the property boundary whichever is the greater.

h) The driveway access within the subject property shall be constructed using an all weather surface, with a management plan to provide measures to suppress dust generation from the development site and Tyson Road shall be prepared and implemented to the satisfaction of Council.

i) The access driveway is to be designed and constructed so as not to interfere with the capacity of the current roadside drainage network and to prevent water from proceeding onto, or ponding within, the carriageway of Tysons Road. Any culvert proposed to be located within the clear zone of the carriageway for the prevailing speed zone is to be constructed with a traversable type headwall.

REASON: to ensure safe road network and access to the site and suitable protection to Council asset.

ROADS AND MARITIME SERVICES

j) As a minimum the intersection of the Kidman Way (MR321) and Tysons Road is to be constructed and the roadside maintained so as to provide the required Safe Intersection Sight Distance (SISD) in either direction in accordance with the Austroads Publications as amended by the supplements adopted by Roads and Maritime Services for the prevailing speed limit. Compliance with this requirement is to be certified by an appropriately qualified person prior to construction of the vehicular access.

k) As a minimum the intersection of the Kidman Way (MR321) and Tysons Road is to be constructed and line marked as a public road intersection with a sealed Basic Right Turn (BAR) and Basic Left Turn (BAL) intersection treatment in accordance with the Austroads Guide to Road Design as amended by the supplements adopted by Roads and Maritime Services for the prevailing speed zone on the Kidman Way. The intersection is to be constructed to the standard required for an approved road train route.

I) The intersection of Tysons Road with the Kidman Way shall be designed and constructed so that vehicles turning between the Kidman Way and Tysons Road are not required to cross to the opposing travel lane in order to perform a turn manoeuvre. The intersection shall be line marked in accordance with Australian standards.



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m) A management plan to provide measures to suppress dust generation from the development site and Tysons Road shall be prepared and implemented to the satisfaction of Council and Roads and Maritime Services. n) Any damage or disturbance to the road reserve of the Kidman Way is to be restored to match surrounding landform in accordance with Council requirements.

o) The Kidman Way (MR321) is part of the State Road network. For works on the State Road network the developer is required to enter into a Works Authorisation Deed (WAD) with Roads and Maritime Services before finalising the design or undertaking any construction work within or connecting to the road reserve. The applicant is to contact the Land Use Manager for the South West Region on Ph. 02 69371611 for further detail.

p) The developer will be required to submit detailed design plans and all relevant additional information including cost estimates and pavement design details for the works, as may be required in the Works Authorisation Deed documentation, for each specific change to the state road network for assessment and approval by Roads and Maritime Services. However, the developer is encouraged to submit concept plans of the layout of the proposed works for checking by Roads and Maritime Services prior to undertaking the detailed design phase.

q) Any works within the road reserve of the Kidman Way (MR321) requires approval under Section 138 of the Roads Act, 1993 from the road authority (Council) and concurrence from Roads and Maritime Services prior to commencement of any such works. The developer is responsible for all public utility adjustment/relocation works, necessitated by the development and as required by the various public utility authorities and/or their agents. r) All works associated with the development shall be at no cost to Roads and Maritime Services.

REASON: To comply with section 138(2) of the Roads Act 1993.


34. ROADWORKS

The follow requirements have been prepared by Council and RMS and must be completed prior to the issue of a Final Occupation Certificate. CARRATHOOL SHIRE COUNCIL a) B-double access will only be allowed on this road, after written application is received by Council and approval is given by National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR). Note: B-Double access would be granted at this stage only for their vehicles at the number that has been identified, any increase in traffic numbers may require the road to be sealed.

b) The driveway access within the subject property shall be constructed using an all weather surface, with a management plan to provide measures to suppress dust generation from the development site and Tyson Road shall be prepared and implemented to the satisfaction of Council.




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ROADS AND MARITIME SERVICES c) Prior to issue of a Construction Certificate, all works for the construction of Tyson Road, its intersection

with the Kidman Way (MR321) and the internal access road as per the Development Consent for DA2016/017 shall be completed and to the satisfaction of the relevant road authority.

d) Operational measures to minimise the cumulative peak traffic generation resultant from the combined

operation of Farms 1 and 2 shall be submitted to, and approved by Council and Roads and Maritime Services prior to occupation of Farm 2. The measures shall address the operational activities for Farm I and 2 combined, including bird placement, bird removal, litter placement and removal, etc. which shall be detailed in the Operational Environmental Management Plan.

e) As a minimum the roadside at the intersection of the Kidman Way (MR321) and Tyson Road is to be maintained so as to provide the required Safe Intersection Sight Distance (SISD) in either direction in accordance with the Austroads Publications as amended by the supplements adopted by Roads and Maritime Services for the prevailing speed limit. f) Measures for the control of dust generation from the development site, particularly internal roadways, and Tyson Road must be addressed within the Operational EMP to the satisfaction of the consent authority. g) Any damage or disturbance to the road reserve of the Kidman Way is to be restored to match surrounding landform in accordance with Council requirements. h) Any works within the road reserve of the Kidman Way (MR321) requires concurrence from Roads and Maritime Services under section 138 of the Roads Act 1993 prior to commencement of any such works. The developer is responsible for all public utility adjustment/relocation works, necessitated by the development and as required by the various public utility authorities and/or their agents. i) All works associated with the development shall be at no cost to Roads and Maritime Services.



34. ROADWORKS The follow requirements have been prepared by Council and RMS and must be completed prior to the issue

of a Final Occupation Certificate.

CARRATHOOL SHIRE COUNCIL a) B-double access will only be allowed on this road, after written application is received by Council and

approval is given by National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR). Note: B-Double access would be granted at this stage only for their vehicles at the number that has been identified, any increase in traffic numbers may require the road to be sealed.

b) The driveway access within the subject property shall be constructed using an all weather surface, with a management plan to provide measures to suppress dust generation from the development site and Tyson Road shall be prepared and implemented to the satisfaction of Council.

c) Requests for additional maintenance outside the scheduled Maintenance Hierarchy will need to be in writing and additional costs could be incurred for these works.




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ROADS AND MARITIME SERVICES d) Prior to issue of the Construction Certificate all works for the construction of Tyson Road, its intersection with the Kidman Way (MR321) and the internal access road as per the Development Consent for DA2016/017 shall be completed and to the satisfaction of the relevant road authority. e) Operational measures to minimise the cumulative peak traffic generation resultant from the combined operation of Farms 1, 2 and 3 shall be submitted to, and approved by Council and Roads and Maritime Services prior to occupation of Farm 3. The measures shall address the operational activities for Farms 1, 2 and 3 combined, including bird placement, bird removal, litter placement and removal, etc. which shall be detailed in the Operational Environmental Management Plan. f) As a minimum the roadside at the intersection of the Kidman Way (MR321) and Tyson Road is to be maintained so as to provide the required Safe Intersection Sight Distance (SISD) in either direction in accordance with the Austroads Publications as amended by the supplements adopted by Roads and Maritime Services for the prevailing speed limit. g) Measures for the control of dust generation from the development site, particularly internal roadways, and Tyson Road must be addressed within the Operational EMP to the satisfaction of the consent authority. h) Any damage or disturbance to the road reserve of the Kidman Way is to be restored to match surrounding landform in accordance with Council requirements. i) Any works within the road reserve of the Kidman Way (MR321) requires concurrence from Roads and Maritime Services under section 138 of the Roads Act 1993 prior to commencement of any such works. The developer is responsible for all public utility adjustment/relocation works, necessitated by the development and as required by the various public utility authorities and/or their agents. j) All works associated with the development shall be at no cost to Roads and Maritime Services.


1.1.2 Development Application for The Ranch Farm 5

As noted in the previous section, the upgrades required to be made at the Kidman Way / Tysons Road

intersection, as well as the construction of the new site entrance onto Tysons Road and the internal access

road to The Ranch Farm 1, will be undertaken as part of the consent requirements for The Ranch Farm 1.

Similarly, the section of internal access road between The Ranch Farm 1 and The Ranch Farm 2 will be

constructed as part of the consent requirements for The Ranch Farm 2, and the section of internal access

road between The Ranch Farm 2 and The Ranch Farm 3 will be constructed as part of the consent

requirements for The Ranch Farm 3.

The DA and EIS for The Ranch Farm 5 assume that the development approvals and associated consent

conditions for each of The Ranch Farms 1 to 3 will have been implemented prior to construction

commencing on The Ranch Farm 5. The application for The Ranch Farm 5 is also predicated on The Ranch

Farm 4 being approved and developed first, since that development will provide the section of internal

access road between The Ranch Farm 3 and The Ranch Farm 4. Accordingly, the application for The

Ranch Farm 5 seeks approval for the construction and use of the additional section of internal access road

between The Ranch Farm 4 and The Ranch Farm 5 only. The additional section of internal access road for

The Ranch Farm 5 will connect directly to the internal access road constructed as part of The Ranch Farm 4

development.



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1.2 Scope of Traffic Impact Assessment for The Ranch Farm 5

This TIA report examines the potential impacts of traffic generated by The Ranch Farm 5 proposed

development on the existing traffic movements on Tysons Road, Kidman Way and adjacent areas. It also

considers the cumulative impacts of all five farms which collectively comprise The Ranch Poultry Production

Complex, when operating concurrently.

This assessment is prepared in accordance with relevant Council and RMS standards. The following tasks

have been undertaken in the preparation of this report:

Site inspection, review of existing traffic information and collection of additional traffic data through traffic surveys to establish existing operating conditions along Tysons Road, Kidman Way and other relevant roads in the vicinity of the proposed development;

Assessment of traffic generation to and from the proposed development during its construction and operation;

Assessment of background traffic growth;

Determination of future traffic volumes with and without the proposed development;

Examination of the potential impacts of the additional traffic generated by The Ranch Farm 5 on the operation of the external road network, including Tysons Road and Kidman Way;

Identification of access requirements for The Ranch Farm 5 proposed development; and

Consideration of the cumulative impacts of The Ranch Poultry Production Complex when all five farms are operating concurrently, in conjunction with other known developments in the study area.

As discussed previously, an EIS is being prepared (by SLR Consulting Australia Pty Ltd (SLR)) to

accompany the development application for The Ranch Farm 5 proposed development, which in turn will be

informed by this TIA. As part of this process a Briefing Paper was prepared by SLR to inform relevant

government agencies of the proposed development, and in response to this the Secretary’s Environmental

Assessment Requirements (SEARs) for the Development have been received. The key issues in relation to

transport and road traffic that were identified in the SEARs are summarised in Table 1.1 below, which also

shows the location in this report where each of the issues is addressed.

Aspect – Transport and Road Traffic Where addressed in this report

details of road transport routes and access to the site Sections 2, 3.2, 3.6 and 5

road traffic predictions for the development during construction and operation; and

Sections 3.4, 3.5, 3.7, 4 and 6

an assessment of impacts to the safety and function of the road network; and the details of any road upgrades required for the development

Sections 7, 8 and 9

Table 1.1 – SEARs relating to Transport and Road Traffic for The Ranch Farm 5



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2. EXISTING CONDITIONS

2.1 The Site

The proposed development site referred to as The Ranch Farm 5 is located between Goolgowi and Griffith in

south-western NSW, approximately 5.5km north-east of Tabbita. Access to the site during both its

construction and operation is proposed via a new internal access road that connects to Tysons Road.

Tysons Road is an existing local rural road that connects to Kidman Way (B87) at its western end and Back

Hillston Road, another local rural road which runs along the site’s eastern boundary, at its eastern end.

Plans showing the proposed access arrangements and supporting infrastructure for The Ranch Farms 1 to 5

collectively are provided in Figures 2.1(a) and 2.1(b) on the following pages. Additional plans showing the

proposed location and development layout for The Ranch Farm 5 are provided in Appendix A.

The proposed farm will comprise of 16 tunnel-ventilated, fully-enclosed, climate-controlled poultry sheds with

associated support infrastructure and staff amenities. The proposed Development Site is to be located

within Lot 77 in Deposited Plan (DP) 720257, in an area that comprises of approximately 42.3 hectares (ha)

of vacant rural land. Access to the development during its construction and operation will be achieved via a

new internal farm access road connecting to Tysons Road approximately 1km to the east of Kidman Way,

near the boundaries with the adjacent Lot 47 in DP756045, Lot 2 in DP1157807 and Lot 14 in DP756061.

All movements to and from the site will occur via this new site access onto Tysons Road and the existing

Kidman Way / Tysons Road intersection.

As previously noted in Section 1.1, development approval for the proposed upgrades at the Kidman Way /

Tysons Road intersection, the new site entrance onto Tysons Road and the internal access road to The

Ranch Farm 1 were previously sought and granted as part of the DA (DA 2016/017) and associated EIS

prepared and lodged for that development. Similarly, development approval for the construction and

operation of the additional section of internal access road between The Ranch Farm 1 and The Ranch Farm

2, and between The Ranch Farm 2 and The Ranch Farm 3, were sought and granted as part of DA

2016/022 and DA 2016/023 respectively.

The application for The Ranch Farm 5 is predicated on The Ranch Farm 4 being approved and developed

first, since that development will provide the section of internal access road between The Ranch Farm 3 and

The Ranch Farm 4. The DA and EIS for The Ranch Farm 5 seek approval for the construction and use of the

additional section of internal access road between The Ranch Farm 4 and The Ranch Farm 5 only.



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2.2 Existing Road Network

2.2.1 Kidman Way (B87)

Kidman Way is a state-controlled rural highway running north-south through southern NSW, extending from

Bourke at its northern end all the way to its connection to the Newell Highway at the southern end near

Jerilderie, a total distance of approximately 640km. It is a designated B-Double route and also an approved

Road Train route. Within the study area it intersects with the Mid-Western Highway (B64) at Goolgowi via a

large rural roundabout, as well as with Burley Griffin Way (B94) at Griffith and the Sturt Highway (A20) near

Darlington Point.

Of particular relevance to this study, Kidman Way provides access to Griffith, being the area’s major centre,

as well as to the poultry industry operations located near Hanwood approximately 6km south of Griffith.

Kidman Way between Goolgowi and Griffith is a 2-lane, 2-way rural highway with 3.5m sealed lanes, sealed

shoulders typically varying in width between approximately 0.5m and 1.0m and grassed verges. To the south

of Griffith the lane widths are similar but the shoulders are narrower and generally less than 0.5m wide

(except where the road has more recently been upgraded). The speed limit varies along the route, with a

maximum posted speed limit of 80 or 100km/h occurring outside of the urban areas and 50km/h (or 40km/h

at school zones on school days) within the urban areas of Griffith, Hanwood and Darlington Point. The

speed limit near Tysons Road is 100km/h.

Photos of Kidman Way taken near its intersection with Tysons Road at Tabbita (between Goolgowi and

Griffith) are provided in Figures 2.2 and 2.3.

Figure 2.2: Looking north along Kidman Way at Tabbita (Tysons Road on RHS)



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Figure 2.3: Looking south along Kidman Way at Tabbita (Tysons Road on LHS)

2.2.2 Tysons Road

Tysons Road is a local rural road extending in an east-west direction from Kidman Way at its western end to

Back Hillston Road at its eastern end, a total distance of approximately 2.6km. It crosses the Temoro – Roto

Railway Line approximately 150m to the east of Kidman Way. This railway line, which is a branch line from

the Main South Railway (which runs between Sydney and the NSW state border with Victoria at Albury),

once accommodated passenger services but is now only used infrequently for freight haulage (mainly wheat)

and is closed beyond Hillston (to the north of Goolgowi).

Tysons Road is sealed and unlinemarked from its intersection with Kidman Way up to the railway crossing

and then beyond for a further 135m up to the existing access driveway to the adjacent ROTY Grain Store

depot (i.e. a total length of approximately 285m). Beyond this point it is an unsealed (dirt) road up to its

intersection with Back Hillston Road.

There is an access road / turnaround area located approximately 50m east of the Kidman Way /Tysons

Road intersection on the northern side of Tysons Road, which appears to have previously been used to

service GrainCorp’s Tabbita Silo located near the northeast quadrant of the intersection (see Figure 2.2)

which is currently closed. Tysons Road has no intermediate connections with other local roads and, apart

from a small number of rural farm accesses, it was observed to provide access to only one other

development approximately 750m east of the railway line, namely Northern Riverina Grains P/L. The

proposed access to The Ranch Poultry Production Complex, which includes The Ranch Farm 5

development site, would be located approximately 150m to the east of this access.

Between Kidman Way and the proposed site access Tyson Road has a width of approximately 7m (sufficient

to accommodate 2-way traffic) except near the intersection with Kidman Way where it widens out to 11m or

more to accommodate the turn paths of larger vehicles. There is no posted speed limit on Tysons Road and

the open road speed limit of 100km/h therefore applies.

Figures 2.4 to 2.9 show the general layout of Tysons Road at various locations.



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Figure 2.4: Tysons Road looking north-east from Kidman Way (nr access to GrainCorp’s Tabbita Silo)

Figure 2.5: Tysons Road looking east at railway level crossing

Figure 2.6: Tysons Road looking west at railway level crossing



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Figure 2.7: Tysons Road looking east near end of seal (access to ROTY Grain Store on LHS)

Figure 2.8: Tysons Road looking east from access to Northern Riverina Grains P/L (proposed site

access to be approx. 150m further to the east on LHS)

Figure 2.9: Tysons Road looking west near proposed site access (RHS)



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2.2.3 Back Hillston Road

Back Hillston Road is another local rural road extending in a north-south direction from Kidman Way near

Tabbita (approximately 3.9km south) at its southern end, to Bunda N Road and thence Rankins Springs

Road near Hillston at its northern end, a total distance of approximately 67km. It crosses the state-controlled

Mid-Western Highway (B64) at a point approximately 15km northeast of Goolgowi, but otherwise intersects

with only a few local rural roads including Tysons Road at its southern end. It appears to have a similar

formation width to Tysons Road and is an unsealed (dirt) road. There is no posted speed limit on Back

Hillston Road and the open road speed limit of 100km/h therefore applies.

Figures 2.10 to 2.11 show the general layout of Back Hillston Road in the vicinity of Tysons Road.

Figure 2.10: Back Hillston Road looking north in vicinity of Tysons Road

Figure 2.11: Back Hillston Road looking south in vicinity of Tysons Road



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2.2.4 Kidman Way / Tysons Road Intersection

The existing intersection of Tysons Road with Kidman Way is located approximately 19km south-east of

Goolgowi and is illustrated in Figures 2.12 to 2.13 below. Tysons Road meets Kidman Way on a straight

and flat section of road and offers a reasonably good level of visibility in either direction. The intersection is

sealed but unlinemarked and is controlled by a Give-Way sign. No turn bays are provided at the

intersection, however, a wide sealed shoulder in the form of a Basic Right Turn (BAR) treatment is provided

on the northbound carriageway of Kidman Way to allow through traffic to pass a vehicle waiting to turn right

at the intersection (see Figure 2.2). The intersection mouth is quite wide to accommodate the turn path

requirements of large heavy vehicles generated by existing developments that currently use the intersection

or previously used it (in the case of GrainCorp’s Tabbita Silo).

Figure 2.12: Tysons Road approach to Kidman Way (GrainCorp’s Tabbita Silo access on RHS in

foreground)

Figure 2.13: Tysons Road viewed from Kidman Way (GrainCorp’s Tabbita Silo access on LHS)



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2.2.5 Adjacent Intersections on Kidman Way

Approximately 190m to the south-east of Tysons Road, Kidman Way intersects with the next side road

called Glen Roy Street on its western side. Glen Roy Street is a local unsealed rural road which forms an

uncontrolled T-intersection with Kidman Way. No widening or turn bay provision is provided at this

intersection.

Approximately 400m further to the north-west of Tysons Road, Kidman Way intersects with Tabbita Lane on

its western side at a Give-Way controlled T-intersection that includes left and right turn bays on Kidman Way

in an AUL/CHR configuration. Tabbita Lane is a 2-lane 2-way sealed rural road running east-west which

provides a connection at its western end to the Mid-Western Highway west of Goolgowi via Carrathool Road,

thereby providing an alternative route for locally-generated traffic that avoids the need to travel via Goolgowi.

2.3 Existing Land Use

The long-standing and existing use of the development site is associated with traditional agricultural

production, primarily dryland cropping.

The primary land use for the surrounding neighbourhood is also traditional agricultural production.

Additional land uses within the area include a privately owned and operational silo on Tysons Road (ROTY

Grain Store depot), located approximately 5.4km south-west of the Development Site; GrainCorp’s Tabbita

Silo which is currently closed, located near the intersection of Tysons Road with Kidman Way; and JBS

Australia’s Tabbita Feedlot (cattle feedlot) approximately 12km to the west of The Ranch Farm 5

development which is accessed from Tabbita Lane. There are also several other poultry developments

recently approved within the area, as discussed later.

The Ranch Farm 5 development is removed from any urban areas. Council has advised that Tabbita, which

is located approximately 5.5km south-west of the Development Site, comprises five residences.

2.4 Existing Traffic Volumes

2.4.1 Kidman Way near Tysons Road

Existing traffic volumes along Kidman Way in the vicinity of the proposed development have been derived

from traffic data provided by Roads and Maritime Services (RMS). RMS has a mobile counting site (station

no. 95255) on Kidman Way located approximately 700m south of Tysons Road. There are no major roads

located between the count site and Tysons Road, hence the traffic volumes and daily traffic flow profile at

the count site are expected to be representative of what also occurs on Kidman Way near its intersection

with Tysons Road.

The most recent traffic data available from the RMS mobile site dates back to the period from Tuesday 22

November 2011 to Tuesday 13 December 2011. The information provided to RoadNet includes hourly traffic

volumes in each direction of travel for each day of the week and daily volumes in each direction for each of

the 12 different vehicle types in accordance with the Austroads method of classification.

The data shows relatively low traffic volumes on Kidman Way over the survey period. Average traffic

volumes during the weekdays were approximately 1,100 vehicles per day (two-way), reducing at the

weekends to provide an overall 7-day average daily volume of 987 veh/day (two-way).



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A summary of the average hourly traffic profile for each direction of travel over the survey period is provided

in Figure 2.14 below.

Figure 2.14: Average hourly traffic volumes on Kidman Way (from RMS data)

Analysis of the data indicates:

Traffic volumes along Kidman Way generally increase during the morning to a peak of 75veh/hr between 8-9am and 9-10am, and then remain at a level between 60 and 70veh/hr during the middle part of the day before peaking again in the afternoon to 81veh/hr between 4-5pm. The volumes then reduce again with an overnight low of 3 veh/hr recorded between 1am and 4am.

Existing traffic volumes during the development peaks for The Ranch Farm 5 proposed development (i.e. around 7am and 4pm, corresponding to the start and end times for the daily farm workers shift) are approximately 51veh/hr and 81veh/hr respectively.

There is some variation throughout the day between northbound and southbound volumes, however, the directional split for the full 24 hr period is approximately 50:50.

Heavy vehicle numbers contribute up to approximately 20% of the total daily traffic volumes, however, during the night-time the proportion of heavy vehicles is expected to be much higher.

Weekday traffic volumes were observed to be slightly higher than weekend volumes over the survey period.

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An on-site traffic count was also conducted on Kidman Way at the intersection with Tysons Road as part of a

site visit on the afternoon of Thursday 4 June 2015 between 3:30pm and 5pm. The count indicated a two-

way peak hour volume along Kidman Way of 110veh/hr between 3:45 and 4:45pm, including 22 heavy

vehicles. Only 2 vehicles were observed to turn into Tysons Road and 1 vehicle out during the entire survey

period (i.e. 1.5hrs).

The volume of traffic observed along Kidman Way from the traffic survey is a little higher than that identified

from analysis of the RMS traffic data for the same time period, although the overall order of magnitude is

similar. Given the different times of year associated with each survey and the different baseline assumptions

(i.e. average 7-day traffic volume vs weekday spot count) this is to be expected. However, since the hourly

volumes are so low the differences are insignificant.

Importantly, the survey indicates that there is very little traffic currently using Tysons Road via its intersection

with Kidman Way during the afternoon peak period. This is consistent with site observations which confirm a

limited number of existing and operational access points along the length of Tysons Road as previously

discussed in Section 2.2.2.

For the purpose of this assessment, the highest average hourly traffic volume of 81veh/hr in 2011 (41veh/hr

southbound, 40veh/hr northbound) identified from analysis of the RMS data has been used, with an

allowance for traffic growth as discussed in Section 2.5, to represent the future traffic volumes along Kidman

Way at the Tysons Road intersection during each of the development peak hours. This equates to examining

the worst case (highest hourly volume) scenario on a typical (average) day. In addition, a nominal allowance

of 1veh/hr turning into Tysons Road from each direction and 1veh/hr turning out of Tysons Road in each

direction) during the development peak hours has been adopted, and 10veh/hr in and out (i.e. each way)

over a full day. These assumptions reflect the very low background traffic volumes observed to be currently

using this road.

2.4.2 Kidman Way – other locations

Existing traffic volumes along Kidman Way have also been examined at other locations within the study area

based on traffic data provided by RMS. A summary of those sites and the most recent period(s) for which

traffic data is available is provided below (Station no. 95255 discussed in the previous section is included for

comparison):

Station no. 95255 (Tabbita) – 24/7/2010 to 10/08/2010 and 22/11/2011 to 13/12/2011.

Station no. 95374 (west of Griffith) – 25/7/2010 to 12/08/2010.

Station no. 95641 (south of Willandra Avenue, Griffith) – 25/7/2010 to 10/8/2010.

The average daily traffic volumes and proportion of heavy vehicles recorded at these sites for each of the

time periods specified are summarised in Table 2.1 below.



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Year Average Daily Traffic Volumes (veh/day) and % Heavy Vehicles

Station No.

95255 (Tabbita) 95374 (west of Griffith) 95641 (south of Griffith)

2010 816 (13.5%) 2,667 (11.7%) 5,800*

2011 987 (19.6%) - -

*Estimated from axle count of 6,743 axle pairs using factor of 0.86

Table 2.1 Average daily traffic volumes on Kidman Way

These numbers may have increased a little between the time the surveys were conducted and now,

however, they are expected to be broadly representative of the existing traffic conditions along Kidman Way.

The data indicates that the average daily traffic volumes along Kidman Way are quite low, ranging from

approximately 1,000 veh/day in the vicinity of Tabbita (i.e. near the proposed development site as previously

discussed in Section 2.4.1) to between approximately 3,000 and 6,000 veh/day within the immediate vicinity

of Griffith depending on the location. Corresponding numbers of heavy vehicles range from approximately

200 to 300 veh/day based on the available data.

2.5 Background Traffic Growth

A background linear traffic growth rate of 1.5% per annum (applied from the base year of 2011 for the traffic

data) has been adopted for both the peak hour and daily volumes for the purposes of this assessment.

Given the rural nature of the location of the proposed development and the relatively low levels of

development occurring as a whole within the region, a growth rate of 1.5% per annum over the longer term is

expected to provide a conservative basis against which the potential upgrades required on the external road

network as a result of the proposed development can be assessed.

Note that a separate assessment of the cumulative impacts of not only The Ranch Farm 5 development, but

also other developments recently completed (such as the Jeanella Poultry Production Complex) or proposed

which have/will add additional traffic to the local road network, is provided in Section 7.6. This includes the

other farms proposed as part of The Ranch Poultry Production Complex.

2.6 Existing Pedestrian and Cyclist Facilities

Given the rural location for this development proposal, all access to and from Tysons Road and the

proposed site is expected to be via vehicle. No pedestrian or cyclist movements have been observed to

currently occur in the area and none are expected as a result of the proposed development.



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3. PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT

3.1 Development Description

VOAG 5 intends to develop an intensive poultry broiler production complex (The Ranch Farm 5) comprising

of 16 tunnel-ventilated fully-enclosed climate-controlled poultry sheds where broiler birds will be grown for

human consumption. The conceptual layout of the proposed development is shown in Appendix A. The key

development elements of the proposed farm include:

Table 3.1 Summary of The Ranch Farm 5 Proposed Development

Development Characteristic Proposed Development

Purpose Birds grown for human consumption

Number of poultry sheds 16, each measuring 176m long by 18m wide (3,168m2)

Type of poultry sheds Tunnel-ventilated, fully-enclosed, climate-controlled

Maximum shed population 50,000 birds

Maximum farm population 800,000 birds

Maximum bird density within sheds 18 birds per square metre (and will not exceed a density of 34kg/m2)

Hours of operation 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Production cycle length Approximately 9 weeks (63 days), comprising 7.5 weeks (53 days) of bird occupation and a 1.5 week (10 days) cleaning phase.

Number of production cycles per year Approximately 5.7 on average

The proposed poultry development will operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Each of the proposed

poultry sheds will have the capacity to house a maximum of 50,000 broilers at any one time, equating to a

total farm population of 800,000 broilers.

The proposed disturbance footprint (including access roads, servicing infrastructure and support

infrastructure) of The Ranch Farm 5 development will be relatively small at approximately 17ha and the

commercial activities associated with the poultry operation will be largely confined to this area.

In addition to poultry shedding, The Ranch Farm 5 will include:

The construction of two (2) dwellings within The Ranch Farm 5 site comprising of one residential dwelling and one rural workers dwelling, to accommodate the farm manager and assistant farm manager; and

The construction of ancillary infrastructure and improvements required to support the poultry production operation.



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3.2 Vehicular Access and Internal Road Layout

Entry to The Ranch Poultry Production Complex which includes The Ranch Farm 5 will occur via a suitable

all-weather access road connecting to Tysons Road within the Carrathool LGA. The internal access road

will run parallel to the fenceline along the side of Tysons Road and then north generally parallel to Back

Hillston Road.

As mentioned in previous sections, development approval for the proposed upgrades at the Kidman Way /

Tysons Road intersection, the new site entrance onto Tysons Road and the internal access road to The


prepared and lodged for that development. Similarly, development approval for the construction and

operation of the additional section of internal access road between The Ranch Farm 1 and The Ranch Farm

2, and between The Ranch Farm 2 and The Ranch Farm 3, were sought and granted as part of DA

2016/022 and DA 2016/023 respectively.





A conceptual layout of the proposed access arrangements and supporting infrastructure servicing the

development was provided previously in Figures 2.1(a) and 2.1(b). A plan showing the development layout

is also provided in Appendix A. The new section of internal access road proposed to connect The Ranch

Farm 5 to The Ranch Farm 4 has been located to avoid vegetation clearing, where possible. The Ranch

Farm 5 development will include a one-way system to enable traffic to enter, exit and manoeuvre around the

poultry sheds for loading, unloading and servicing activities in a forward direction, thereby minimising the

potential for traffic conflict and noise.

The roads will be constructed as all-weather rural-type roads able to carry the anticipated heavy vehicle

movements.

Parking will be available adjacent to the sheds to accommodate staff and visitor movements.

3.3 Pedestrians, Cyclists and Public Transport

No provision is made for external pedestrians, cyclists or public transport connections due to the remote

location of the site.

3.4 Development Traffic Generation

This section focuses on the traffic that would be generated by the proposed development once The Ranch

Farm 5 becomes operational. Construction traffic generated during the construction of the proposed

development is discussed in Section 6.



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3.4.1 Traffic Generating Sources

While the proposed poultry development will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the majority of

activities will occur between 7.00am and 7.00pm. As the birds reach their desired processing (slaughter)

weight they will be removed from the sheds and transported from the development site between the hours of

7pm and 4pm, although for reasons of livestock welfare they will generally be removed overnight and in the

morning when it is cooler and the birds are more settled.

There will typically be one daily shift for farm workers commencing at 7:00am and finishing at 4:00pm each

day.

It is estimated that approximately 75 percent of the total daily traffic generation will comprise of heavy

vehicles (primarily either semi-trailers or rigid trucks), while the remaining traffic will be light vehicles

(predominantly cars).

Light Vehicles

It is expected that the majority of light vehicles will travel to and from Goolgowi and the Griffith area

(particularly the latter where the majority of the local population resides) via Kidman Way to access the site.

Most inbound light vehicles will turn right into Tysons Road from Kidman Way and left into the proposed site

access road connecting to The Ranch Farm 5, while traffic exiting will turn right out of the site access road

and left onto Kidman Way from Tysons Road.

Some staff movements may have an origin or destination from/to points to the west of Goolgowi such as the

area around Gunbar, and would therefore be expected to use the shorter, more direct route provided by

Tabbita Lane to travel to/from the site rather than travelling via Goolgowi. However, in practice the distance

involved (e.g. approximately 46km from Gunbar) is expected to limit the number of such movements. A small

allowance for some traffic arriving and departing via Kidman Way to the north of Tysons Road has been

made in the traffic calculations, which allows for this option as well as the option of traffic arriving/departing

from/to Goolgowi.

While Old Hillston Road and its connection to Tysons Road theoretically provides an alternative route for

light vehicle traffic originating from locations further to the east of Goolgowi such as Rankin Springs, in

practice very little traffic would be expected to travel this distance (approximately 60km) to access the site on

a regular basis. Even then, the majority of that traffic would still be expected to use the higher standard and

faster State Highway network (i.e. the Mid-Western Highway and Kidman Way) to access the site rather than

the lower standard, slower dirt road option that Old Hillston Road offers. For the purpose of this

assessment, all light vehicle traffic movements to and from the development site are assessed to occur via

Kidman Way and its connection with Tysons Road.

The following issues have been considered when estimating traffic generation.

Most staff will travel to and from the site by car.

The number of staff is likely to vary seasonally i.e. there will be busy times when additional labour will be called upon.

The distance from towns to the site is likely to result in the occurrence of some car-pooling during busier times.



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Staff numbers are low in relation to the number of birds on the site. It is proposed that there be:

- 1 full-time farm manager who lives on site.

- 1 full-time assistant farm manager who lives on site.

- 2 full-time equivalent farm hands.

Trucks

Trucks will travel to and from the site on a daily basis via the Kidman Way / Tysons Road intersection. All

trucks will be directed to use Kidman Way and its intersection with Tysons Road to access the site.

Practically all truck movements will be to and from the direction of Griffith and Hanwood (approximately 6

kilometres south of Griffith on Kidman Way) i.e. to/from the south-east. This means that they will turn right

into Tysons Road from Kidman Way and left out. The associated operational activities include:

Delivery of the shed floor bedding material in rigid trucks from a storage facility located near Hanwood, to the south-east of the site;

Delivery of day-old chicks from Baiada Poultry’s (Baiada) hatchery facility located approximately 3 kilometres west of Griffith on Snaldero Road in insulated pantechnicon trucks (south);

Delivery of feed from Baiada’s feedmill facility located approximately 1 kilometre south of Hanwood on the corner of Kidman Way and McWilliams Road in semi-trailers (south);

Delivery of bulk liquid petroleum gas (LPG) from Griffith in rigid trucks (south);

Removal of birds to Baiada’s processing complex located approximately 1 kilometre south of Hanwood on the corner of Kidman Way and Murphy Road in semi-trailers (south);

Removal of shed floor litter (spent bedding material) in semi-trailers to various locations;

Removal of dead birds to Baiada’s processing complex, which includes a protein recovery/rendering plant, located approximately 1 kilometre south of Hanwood on the corner of Kidman Way and Murphy Road in rigid trucks (south); and

Removal of general garbage in rigid trucks to disposal facilities located in the vicinity of Griffith (south).

The traffic volume calculations used in the traffic assessment are based on the largest truck being a semi-

trailer. However, it is possible that future contractors may use B-Doubles to service the site, which would

reduce the overall number of trips used in this traffic impact assessment.

Heavy vehicle trips will be mostly spread over the nine week production cycle and will be distributed

relatively evenly over the predicted delivery hours.

3.4.2 Traffic Generation volumes

Traffic generation for a typical 9 week production cycle and annually (based on 5.7 production cycles per

year) has been based on operational data provided by Baiada via SLR Consulting. A summary of the traffic

generation for The Ranch Farm 5 is provided in Table 3.2 on the next page.

It should be noted that in preparing these traffic generation estimates Baiada reviewed its core operational

data at its existing facilities for each of the key activities in which it is involved. As a result the heavy vehicle

traffic generation rates on a ‘per-shed’ basis over the 9 week production cycle, in particular, have changed

(increased) from what was previously adopted for assessment of The Ranch Farms 1 to 3. The revised

traffic generation volumes for the now-approved 8 shed developments for each of The Ranch Farms 1 to 3,



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which have been adopted going forward for assessing the traffic impacts of The Ranch Farm 5 development

proposal (on the basis that those developments will already be operational and therefore generating traffic

on the local road network prior to The Ranch Farm 5 becoming operational) are provided in Appendix B.

The changes made to the traffic generation rates equate to a small increase in the average total daily

predicted traffic generation for each of The Ranch Farms 1 to 3 from 7 vehicles per day (14 two-way trips) to

9 vehicles per day (18 two-way trips), while the forecast peak hour traffic generation remains unchanged.

Table 3.2 – Traffic Generation per Production Cycle and Year for The Ranch Farm 5 development

Activity Vehicle Type

Vehicles (Two Way Trips)

Traffic Per 9 Week

Production Cycle

(Trips)

Annual Traffic - 5.7

Production Cycles

(Trips)

Heavy Vehicles

Delivery of shed bedding material Twin axle rigid truck 30 (60) 171 (342)

Delivery of chicks Twin axle rigid truck 12 (24) 69 (138)

Delivery of feed Semi-trailer 180 (360) 1,026 (2,052)

Delivery of fuel Rigid tanker 2 (4) 12 (24)

Delivery of gas (LPG) Rigid tanker 4 (8) 23 (46)

Removal of birds Semi-trailer 180 (360) 1,026 (2,052)

Removal of birds – catching equipment

transporter Semi-trailer 40 (80) 228 (456)

Removal of birds – catching staff Bus 40 (80) 228 (456)

Removal of shed litter material Semi-trailer 72 (144) 410 (820)

Shed wash down equipment transporter Semi-trailer 40 (80) 228 (456)

Removal of dead birds Twin axle rigid truck 60 (120) 342 (684)

Removal of garbage Rigid truck 2 (4) 12 (24)

Heavy Vehicle Sub-Total 662 (1,324) 3,775 (7,550)

Light Vehicles

Staff visits Car 160 (320) 912 (1,824)

Tradesman Ute/Van 18 (36) 103 (206)

Catching equipment maintenance Van 8 (16) 46 (92)

Shed litter material removal contractors Car 20 (40) 114 (228)

Shed wash down contractors Car 8 (16) 46 (92)

Light Vehicle Sub-Total 214 (428) 1,221 (2,442)

TOTAL 876 (1,752) 4,996 (9,992)



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Daily traffic generation and hourly volumes for The Ranch Farm 5 proposed development have been

calculated on the basis of 2 full-time equivalent staff. A few trucks will come and go as they are spread

evenly throughout daylight hours. The calculations are imprecise but only small numbers are involved.

On average there will be 30 movements per day (22 of these trucks).

The peak generating hours of the development will occur at the start and finish of the shift. It is estimated

that there would be 4 trips in the AM peak hour and 4 trips in the PM peak hour.

It is also estimated that approximately 70% of vehicle movements generated by the development will be into

the site in the morning, with 30% out, while the situation will be reversed in the afternoon (i.e. 30% in and

70% out).

Vehicle Type Vehicles Per Day

(Vehicle Trips)

AM Peak Hour

Movements

PM Peak Hour

Movements

Cars (LV) 4 (8) 3 (2 in, 1 out) 3 (1 in, 2 out)

Heavy Vehicles 11 (22) 1 (1 in, 0 out) 1 (0 in, 1 out)

Total 15 (30) 4 (3 in, 1 out) 4 (1 in, 3 out)

Table 3.3 – Traffic Generation per Day and in each Peak Hour for The Ranch Farm 5

For the purposes of this analysis it is assumed heavy vehicle trips will be spread evenly over the 9 week

cycle and will be distributed evenly over the main hours of activity between 7am and 7pm, equating to an

average of approximately 1 heavy vehicle trip per hour (including during the peak periods as shown in the

table above). The majority of light vehicle trips are associated with staff movements which occur

predominantly during the peak periods, equating to an average of 3 trips in each of the peak periods.

The trip generation volumes shown in Table 3.3 above represent the cycle-average or typical traffic volumes

that might arise on an average day in the production cycle while the chicks are being grown. However, it is

recognised that there are also peak traffic generating periods for the development associated with specific

activities such as bird placement at the beginning of the production cycle, live bird removal towards the end

of the cycle, and litter placement and removal which could potentially give rise to higher numbers of vehicle

movements, and in particular heavy vehicles, over those specific periods.

A more detailed examination of these peak activity periods is included later in Section 3.7, with the purpose

of testing the sensitivity of the results and conclusions drawn from using the cycle average trip generation

volumes which form the basis of the analysis in the following sections.

3.5 Future Design Year Volumes

A design horizon of 10 years from opening of the proposed development, which will be 2019 for The Ranch

Farm 5 development, has been adopted to assess the potential impacts of the development with respect to

any intersection upgrade requirements. Accordingly, a design year of 2029 has been adopted to determine

the future traffic volumes.

Average daily and peak hour background traffic volumes along Kidman Way obtained from the 2011 RMS

data, as discussed in Section 2.4.1, were factored up to 2029 using a linear growth rate of 1.5% per annum



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as discussed in Section 2.5. Existing background traffic volumes to/from Tysons Road were assumed to

remain unchanged. The peak and daily traffic volumes generated by The Ranch Farm 5 development, which

are summarised in Table 3.3 above, were superimposed with these volumes to provide the resulting future

design year volumes.

Figures 3.1 and 3.2 show the estimated daily traffic volumes and volumes at the peak generating times of

The Ranch Farm 5 development for the design year of 2029, including the counted volumes (with allowance

for future traffic growth) on Kidman Way. Some provision for traffic movements generated by the proposed

development arriving/departing from the north on Kidman Way has been included in the daily distribution,

however, as previously discussed the majority of traffic is expected to arrive/depart from/to the south.

Note that Figures 3.1 and 3.2 include traffic, in addition to The Ranch Farm 5 development traffic, generated

by The Ranch Farms 1 to 3, all of which will be operational prior to The Ranch Farm 5 becoming operational

as detailed in Section 1.1 (refer Section 4.1 for discussion of trip generation applicable to each of these

developments). They also include traffic generated by The Ranch Farm 4, which subject to approval would

also be operational prior to commencement of activities at The Ranch 5. These are necessary pre-requisites

to The Ranch Farm 5 development proceeding, since the new site access onto Tysons Road and the

internal access road between this site access and The Ranch Farm 1, as well as the internal access roads

between The Ranch Farms 1 and 2, The Ranch Farms 2 and 3, and The Ranch Farms 3 and 4 will all need

to have been constructed in accordance with the consent conditions for those developments first. As

previously stated, the DA and EIS for The Ranch Farm 5 seeks approval for the construction and use of the


Figure 3.1 Future (2029) peak hour traffic volumes on Kidman Way and Tysons Road, including estimated

traffic generated collectively by The Ranch Farms 1 to 3 (8 sheds each) and Farms 4 & 5 (16 sheds).



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Figure 3.2 Future (2029) daily traffic volumes on Kidman Way and Tysons Road, including estimated traffic

generated collectively by The Ranch Farms 1 to 3 (8 sheds each) and Farms 4 & 5 (16 sheds).

From Figures 3.1 and 3.2 it can be seen that the future traffic volumes, in terms of both background traffic

and traffic generated by the development, are very low even with the inclusion of traffic from the other

approved farms associated with The Ranch Poultry Production Complex. The resulting forecast traffic is

expected to be able to be easily accommodated by the surrounding road network.

A separate analysis of the cumulative traffic generated by all of the known developments in the area,

including full development of The Ranch Poultry Production Complex (i.e. all 5 farms) as well as other farms

recently approved or proposed, is provided in Section 4. The potential cumulative impacts arising from this

traffic is discussed in Section 7.6.

3.6 Heavy Vehicle Routes Servicing Development

Heavy vehicles will generally travel to and from the proposed development site from facilities in and around

Griffith and Hanwood (6km south of Griffith) on a daily basis.

Vehicles accessing facilities in Griffith will travel between the site and Griffith via Kidman Way and will then

be dispersed through the local road network. Similarly, delivery of day old chicks will occur in articulated or

rigid trucks via Kidman Way from a facility located approximately 3km west of Griffith.

Vehicles travelling to Hanwood will travel via Kidman Way south to Griffith, and then continue through Griffith

to Hanwood via Kidman Way. The reverse will occur when travelling from Hanwood to the development site.

Figure 3.3 shows the existing heavy vehicle route through Griffith via Kookora Street and Willandra Avenue.



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Figure 3.3 – Heavy vehicle route through Griffith

Kidman Way is currently designated as a B-Double route. It is also an approved Road Train Route. As

discussed in Section 2.4.2, the daily volumes along this route are currently low, ranging between

approximately 1,000veh/day and 6,000veh/day depending on the location which includes approximately 200

to 300 heavy vehicles. The additional 22 heavy vehicle trips per day (1 in each of the peak hours for the

development) generated by The Ranch Farm 5 development along Kidman Way is not expected to have any

significant traffic impact, with the route having adequate facilities to accommodate the heavy vehicles

generated by the proposed development.

While the current assessment of traffic volumes generated by the development is based on the assumption

that the largest vehicles servicing the development will be semi-trailers, it is possible that future contractors

may use B-Doubles. The current heavy vehicle route servicing the development is suitable for this purpose.

3.7 Peak Activity Traffic Generation

Condition 34d) of DA 2016/022 and Condition 34e) of DA 2016/023 required the consideration of cumulative

peak traffic generation resulting from The Ranch Poultry Production Complex. This section has been

included, along with further analysis in Sections 5.1 and 7.6, to assess cumulative peak traffic resulting from

The Ranch Farms 1 to 5, and to identify operational measures to mitigate impacts, if necessary.

As previously discussed in Section 3.5, the trip generation volumes shown in Table 3.3 previously represent

the cycle-average or typical traffic volumes that might arise on an average day in the production cycle while

the chicks are being grown. However, there are also peak traffic generating periods for the development

associated with specific activities such as bird placement at the beginning of the production cycle, live bird

removal towards the end of the cycle, and litter placement and removal which could potentially give rise to

higher numbers of vehicle movements, and in particular heavy vehicles, over those specific periods.



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An assessment of the peak activities during the production cycle has therefore been undertaken based on

additional data provided by Baiada/SLR for a 16-shed farm (i.e. The Ranch Farm 5). The resulting daily

traffic generation profile across the full 63 day production cycle is illustrated in Figure 3.4 below.

Figure 3.4 – Daily Traffic Flow Profile for The Ranch Farm 5

It is noted that the total vehicle movements over the course of the 63 day production cycle illustrated in

Figure 3.4 equate to the total trip generation of 876 vehicles per production cycle (1752 trips) provided

previously in Table 3.2.

As can be seen from Figure 3.4, the peak activity periods for The Ranch Farm 5 are associated with live bird

removal (peak traffic generation of 82 vehicles per day = 164 trips per day) on Day 54 of the production

cycle, and litter removal/shed cleanout (peak traffic generation of 85 vehicles per day = 170 trips per day) on

Day 57 of the production cycle. While these peak activity traffic volumes are similar to each other, the live

bird collection activities are skewed towards the night/early morning when conditions are cooler, while the

litter removal/shed cleanout activities are expected to be concentrated around daylight hours (say 7am to

7pm).

From a traffic operations/capacity perspective with respect to the adjoining state highway road network, the

peak daytime activities associated with the litter removal / shed cleanout represent the worst case. Assuming

a uniform distribution of traffic arrivals and departures from The Ranch Farm 5 development over the 12 hour

period from 7am to 7pm, the peak activity volume of 85 vehicles per day (170 trips per day) approximates to

7 vehicles per hour (14 trips per hour). These values compare to the 15 vehicles per day (30 trips per day)

and 4 trips in each of the AM and PM peak hours derived using the cycle average volumes (refer Table 3.3).



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By contrast, live bird removal is scheduled to occur between 7pm one day and 4pm the following day,

although for reasons of livestock welfare they would generally be removed overnight and in the morning

when it is cooler and the birds are more settled. Assuming 80% of the trips occur during 7pm to 9am and

the remaining 20% between 9am and 4pm, the peak activity volume of 82 vehicles per day (164 trips per

day) approximates to a maximum hourly volume of 5 vehicles per hour (10 trips per hour) during 7pm-9am

(when traffic volumes on the adjacent road network are for the majority of that period quite low) and only 3

vehicles per hour (6 trips per hour) during 9am-4pm. As can be seen, the additional trips in both periods are

lower than predicted to occur during the litter removal / shed cleanout phase.

It can be seen from the above assessments that while the daily peak activity volumes for both the live bird

removal phase and also the litter removal / shed cleanout phase are considerably higher than the cycle-

average volumes, the increase in hourly traffic volumes is relatively modest in both cases and is not

expected to result in any significant changes to the conclusions drawn based on using cycle-average

volumes.

However, as discussed in Section 5.1, a sensitivity test using the predicted peak activity traffic volumes for

litter removal / shed cleanout (i.e. the worst case scenario) has been used to confirm that the intersection

arrangements currently proposed at the Kidman Way / Tysons Road intersection in accordance with the

consent conditions for DA 2016/017 (i.e. The Ranch Farm 1) will continue to perform acceptably during

periods of peak activity associated with The Ranch Farm 5 development.

An assessment of the cumulative impacts arising from all of the approved/proposed developments known in

the study area has also been undertaken in conjunction with the worst case peak activity volumes for The

Ranch Farm 5, as discussed in Section 7.6.

It is important to note that only one peak activity is expected to arise at any given time from ANY of The

Ranch farms. This reflects practical constraints in relation to the physical resources that are at Baiada’s

disposal, which means that it is unable to undertake the peak traffic generating activities described above at

more than one location at a time.

For the purposes of this TIA it is also assumed that peak activities arising from other farms in the study area

(e.g. the Tabbita Lane, Maylands or Jeanella/Jeanella South farms) do not coincide with the peak activity

periods for The Ranch Farm 5. The daily traffic profile and peak activity periods for these other

developments are unknown. Furthermore, given that The Ranch Farm 5 production cycle extends over 63

days it seems unlikely that there would be many occurrences of peak activities overlapping, and on those

occasions when this might occur there is still considerable spare capacity available on the adjoining State

Highway network to accommodate short term fluctuations in traffic flow. This is discussed further in Section

5.1.



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4. OTHER DEVELOPMENTS IN THE STUDY AREA

4.1 The Ranch Poultry Production Complex

As previously discussed in Section 1.1, The Ranch Farm 5 represents one of five separate farms being

proposed for development in the study area as part of The Ranch Poultry Production Complex. The Ranch

Farms 1 to 3 have already been approved for the development of 8 sheds each, and development consent

is now being sought for two more poultry farms, being The Ranch Farm 4 (the subject of a separate

development consent) and The Ranch Farm 5 (the subject of this TIA), which it is proposed will each have

16 sheds. Each of The Ranch Farms 4 and 5 will be the subject of a separate development application (DA)

and a separate Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to be lodged with Council. The applications for The

Ranch Farm 4 and The Ranch Farm 5 are expected to be lodged concurrently in February 2016.

The locations of the five farms were previously shown in Figure 1.2. All five farms will be accessed via the

same internal site access road connection onto Tysons Road as previously discussed, which in turn will be

accessed exclusively from the intersection of Kidman Way and Tysons Road. Development approvals for

proposed upgrades at the Kidman Way / Tysons Road intersection, the new site entrance onto Tysons Road

and the internal access road to The Ranch Farm 1 were previously sought and granted as part of the DA

(DA 2016/017) and associated EIS prepared and lodged for The Ranch Farm 1 development. Similarly,

development approvals for the construction and operation of the additional sections of internal access road

between The Ranch Farm 1 and The Ranch Farm 2, and between The Ranch Farm 2 and The Ranch Farm

3, were sought and granted as part of DA 2016/022 for The Ranch Farm 2 and DA 2016/023 for The Ranch

Farm 3 respectively.





It is proposed that each farm at The Ranch Poultry Production Complex will be constructed consecutively,

with indicative timeframes for the commencement of construction and operational activities at the five farms

(subject to obtaining the relevant approvals) as follows:













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In addition to the above, it is understood that further expansions to The Ranch Farms 1 to 3 are proposed to

be made in the future which if approved would see the size of each of these farms increase from the

currently approved capacity of 8 sheds up to 16 sheds each, making them the same size as proposed for

The Ranch Farms 4 and 5. Separate Development Briefing Papers for the expansion of each of these farms

were lodged with the Department of Planning and Environment (DP&E) on Monday 4 January 2016 to seek

the preparation of appropriately targeted Secretary’s Environmental Assessment Requirements (SEARs) for

each of the developments. At this stage it is proposed that the expansions to these farms will not occur until

all of the farms have been constructed in accordance with the above timetable. On this basis, the earliest

timing for the proposed Farm 1 to 3 Expansions would be as follows:

The Ranch Farm 1 Expansion – additional 8 sheds – commence construction: July 2019


The Ranch Farm 2 Expansion – additional 8 sheds – commence construction: January 2020


The Ranch Farm 3 Expansion – additional 8 sheds – commence construction: July 2020


Taking the above into account, if all of the proposed developments are approved then ultimately each of the

five farms that comprise The Ranch Poultry Production Complex will be of the same size (i.e. 16 poultry

sheds, each with a maximum shed population of 50,000 birds resulting in a maximum farm population of

800,000 birds) and will have the same operational characteristics.

The traffic generation associated with each of the farms will therefore ultimately, once approved, be the

same as shown previously in Table 3.3 for The Ranch Farm 5. The total traffic generation arising from the

five farms collectively when fully developed (i.e. 16 sheds each) is summarised in Table 4.1. Note that these

volumes are cycle-average volumes.


(Vehicle Trips)

AM Peak Hour

Movements

PM Peak Hour

Movements




Table 4.1 – Traffic Generation per Day and in each Peak Hour for The Ranch Poultry Production

Complex (i.e. all five farms collectively comprising of 16 sheds each)

It should be noted that the volumes in the above table are different to those previously shown at the site

entrance on Figures 3.1 and 3.2, since the volumes shown on those figures include only the trip generation

associated with The Ranch Farm 5 plus what is currently approved for development (i.e. 8 sheds at each of

The Ranch Farms 1 to 3) or expected to be developed subject to approval (i.e. 16 sheds at The Ranch Farm

4), all of which would be operational prior to The Ranch Farm 4 development proceeding. The volumes in

the above table are provided for the purpose of assessing the cumulative impacts of all of the known

developments (approved and proposed) in the study area should they proceed (of which The Ranch Poultry



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Production Complex in its fully developed form comprises a part), rather than just the impacts arising from

the proposed development (i.e. The Ranch Farm 5) in isolation to which Figures 3.1 and 3.2 refer. An

assessment of both the individual and cumulative impacts of the subject development(s) is provided in

Section 5 and Section 7.6.

Details of other developments in the study area which are also relevant to the cumulative impact

assessment are provided in the following section.

4.2 Other Developments

In addition to The Ranch Poultry Production Complex, at the time of writing this report the following

developments had either been constructed or recently approved, or had been proposed (i.e. SEARS

requested/issued):

Jeanella Poultry Production Complex (ProTen Holdings P/L) - approved by Council in 2012 and

constructed in 2013. This site is operational and is located on the northern side of the Mid-Western

Highway, approximately 6km south-west of Goolgowi. It is accessed directly from the Mid-Western

Highway and comprises of 24 poultry sheds accommodating up to 1,284,000 birds. It’s

commencement of operations post-dates the most recent period for which RMS was able to provide

traffic data on Kidman Way (i.e. 2011, as previously discussed) and its traffic generation therefore

needs to be included when considering the potential cumulative impacts of the proposed

development with other known developments in the study area.

Jeanella South Poultry Production Complex (ProTen Holdings P/L) – approved by Council in

October 2015. It is located on the southern side of the Mid-Western Highway, approximately 7.5km

south-west of Goolgowi and 1.5km south of the existing Jeanella Poultry Production Complex.

Access to the development once operational will be provided from Merrondale Lane onto the Mid-

Western Highway, west of the existing access to the Jeanella Poultry Production Complex. The

development proposal comprises of 16 poultry sheds able to accommodate up to 856,000 birds.

Maylands Farm A (Lemic Holdings P/L) – approved by Council in August 2015. It is located on the

southern side of the Mid-Western Highway, approximately 7km north-east of Goolgowi. Access to

the development once operational will be provided from Youngs Lane onto the Mid-Western

Highway. The development will comprise 24 poultry sheds able to accommodate up to 1,360,800

birds.

Maylands Farm B (Lemic Holdings P/L) – approved by Council in December 2015. It is located on

the southern side of the Mid-Western Highway, approximately 8km north-east of Goolgowi on an

adjoining lot to Maylands Farm A. Access to the development once operational will be provided

from Youngs Lane onto the Mid-Western Highway. The development will comprise 24 poultry sheds

able to accommodate up to 1,360,800 birds.

Tabbita Poultry Farm 1 (NMS Enterprises P/L) – approved by Council in August 2015. It is located

on the northern side of Tabbita Lane to the west of its intersection with Kidman Way at Tabbita,

approximately 8km south-east of Goolgowi. Access to the development once operational will be

provided via Tabbita Lane and Kidman Way. The development proposal comprises of 20 poultry



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sheds able to accommodate up to 51,000 birds each, equating to a maximum population of

approximately 1,020,000 birds.

Tabbita Poultry Farm 2 (NMS Enterprises P/L) – approved by Council in September 2015, this

development is located on an adjoining lot to Tabbita Poultry Farm 1. It is located on the northern

side of Tabbita Lane to the west of its intersection with Kidman Way at Tabbita, approximately 8km

south-east of Goolgowi. Access to the development once operational will be provided via Tabbita

Lane and Kidman Way. The development proposal comprises of 20 poultry sheds able to

accommodate up to 51,000 birds each, equating to a maximum population of approximately

1,020,000 birds.

Tabbita Poultry Farm 3 (NMS Enterprises P/L) - approved by Council in December 2015, this

development is located on an adjoining lot to Tabbita Poultry Farms 1 and 2 on the northern side of

Tabbita Lane to the west of its intersection with Kidman Way at Tabbita, approximately 8km south-

east of Goolgowi. Access to the development once operational will be provided via Tabbita Lane

and Kidman Way. The development proposal comprises of 20 poultry sheds able to accommodate

up to 51,000 birds each, equating to a maximum population of approximately 1,020,000 birds.

Tabbita Poultry Farm 4 (NMS Enterprises P/L) – a Development Briefing Paper and request for

SEARs has been submitted to the DP&E for this proposed development. It is located on an

adjoining lot to Tabbita Poultry Farms 1, 2 and 3 on the northern side of Tabbita Lane to the west of

its intersection with Kidman Way at Tabbita, approximately 8km south-east of Goolgowi. Access to

the development once operational will be provided via Tabbita Lane and Kidman Way. The

development proposal comprises of 20 poultry sheds able to accommodate up to 51,000 birds

each, equating to a maximum population of approximately 1,020,000 birds.

Each of these developments, including the developments associated with The Ranch Poultry Production

Complex, is/will be serviced by vehicles that collectively use common sections of roads within the study area

for the delivery and removal of the raw input materials and production outputs. Tysons Road, and Kidman

Way to the north and south of Tysons Road, are of particular interest to this study.

Estimates of the traffic generation for The Ranch Poultry Production Complex as a whole (i.e. all five farms

in their ultimate configuration of 16 sheds per farm) were developed in Table 4.1. An assessment of the

traffic generation for each of the other developments listed above was produced separately (in some cases

by other parties) as part of their traffic impact assessment reports and has been extracted from those reports

without change for the purposes of this assessment. Details of those reports (in italics) are as follows:

Jeanella Poultry Production Complex: Traffic Impact Assessment – Proposed Poultry Broiler

Production Complex, Goolgowi, NSW (RoadNet, May 2012)

Jeanella South Poultry Production Complex: Traffic Impact Assessment – Proposed Jeanella

South Poultry Production Complex at Mid-Western Highway, Goolgowi (RoadNet, 30 July 2015)

Maylands Farm A: Traffic Impact Assessment – Proposed Maylands Poultry Farm at Mid-Western

Highway, Goolgowi (RoadNet, 18 June 2015)

Maylands Farm B: Traffic Impact Assessment – Maylands Poultry Complex – Farm B at Mid-

Western Highway, Goolgowi (RoadNet, 19 October 2015)



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Tabbita Poultry Farm 1: Proposed Poultry Farm Development, Tabbita Lane, Tabbita, Traffic and

Parking Assessment Report (Varga Traffic Planning Pty Ltd, June 2014)

Tabbita Poultry Farm 2: Proposed Poultry Farm Development, Farm 2, Tabbita Lane, Tabbita,

Traffic and Parking Assessment Report (Varga Traffic Planning Pty Ltd, July 2015)

Tabbita Poultry Farm 3: Proposed Poultry Farm Development, Farm 3, Tabbita Lane, Tabbita,

Traffic and Parking Assessment Report (Varga Traffic Planning Pty Ltd, September 2015)

In the case of the proposed Tabbita Poultry Farm 4, at the time of writing this report there was no traffic

report available for this development to confirm its traffic generation. However, based on our understanding

that it will be the same size as the other approved poultry farm developments at Tabbita Lane (i.e. Tabbita

Poultry Farms 1 to 3), it is assumed that it will generate the same volume of traffic as those developments.

The following table summarises the total projected traffic generated by each of the developments, including

the five farms that make up The Ranch Poultry Production Complex in their fully developed form, and the

corresponding volumes using common sections of Tysons Road and Kidman Way. The distribution of traffic

for the 5 farms that make up The Ranch Poultry Production Complex is the same as that adopted for The

Ranch Farm 5 (refer Figures 3.1 and 3.2). For the other developments, as an approximation for this

assessment it is assumed all movements have an origin or destination to the south (i.e. in and around

Griffith).

Development Site

Estimated Daily Traffic Generation (two-way) – veh/day

(Heavy Vehicle volume in brackets)

Total Generated

Traffic

On Tysons Road

(east of Kidman Way)

On Kidman Way

(north of Tysons Road)

On Kidman Way

(south of Tysons Road)

The Ranch Poultry Production

Complex – 5 farms

150 (110) 150 (110) 10 (0) 140 (110)

Jeanella Poultry

Production Complex (existing)

38 (26) - 38 (26) 38 (26)

Jeanella South Poultry Farm 26 (16) - 26 (16) 26 (16)

Maylands Farm A 38 (30) - 38 (30) 38 (30)

Maylands Farm B 38 (30) - 38 (30) 38 (30)

Tabbita Poultry Farm 1 44 (28) - 44 (28) 44 (28)




Cumulative Volume 150 (110) 326 (214) 456 (324)

Table 4.2 – Cumulative Traffic Generated by Known Developments in Study Area

Based on the above assessment the known developments collectively result in an additional 150 trips per

day on Tysons Road; 326 trips per day on Kidman Way to the north of Tysons Road (150 trips per day north



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of Tabbita Lane after removing trips generated by Tabbita Poultry Farms 1 to 4, which have an origin or

destination on Tabbita Lane); and 456 trips per day on Kidman Way to the south of Tysons Road.

The existing volumes of traffic currently using these roads are low as previously discussed in Section 2.4.1

and the additional traffic generated by these developments is not expected to have any significant impact on

the operation of these roads. An assessment of the cumulative impacts of the developments is provided in

Section 7.6.

It should be noted that the volumes presented in Table 4.2 are the estimated cumulative average daily traffic

volumes on a typical day. In practice traffic volumes for each development will vary throughout their

production cycles, resulting in higher volumes on some days during periods of peak activity and lower

volumes at other times. However, it is not possible to assess those variations for all of the developments

since the required data simply isn’t available. It is also considered unlikely that each of the developments

shown in Table 4.2, which all have relatively long production cycles, would peak at the same time. This

reflects practical constraints in relation to the physical resources that are at Baiada’s disposal, which means

that it is unable to undertake the peak traffic generating activities described above at more than one location

at a time.

Taking the above into account, a sensitivity test which examines the cumulative impact arising from the

traffic generation presented in Table 4.2 above, but with the peak activity traffic generation for The Ranch

Farm 5 development (assessed in Section 3.7) used instead of its average traffic generation, has also been

examined as a worst case scenario. The results of that assessment are also presented in Section 7.6.



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5. ACCESS REQUIREMENTS FOR THE PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT

5.1 Kidman Way / Tysons Road Intersection

Access to The Ranch Poultry Production Complex, which includes The Ranch Farm 5 development, is

proposed via an upgraded Kidman Way / Tysons Road intersection and a new access road connecting to

Tysons Road approximately 1km further to the east.

The proposed access road is sufficiently removed from the State Highway road network to allow adequate

room for traffic generated by The Ranch Farm 5 development and also The Ranch Poultry Production

Complex as a whole to manoeuvre or queue on the side road without impacting on Highway traffic.

The distance available between the existing railway level crossing on Tysons Road and Kidman Way

(approximately 150m) is also concluded to be adequate to safely accommodate any queuing that might

occur. The proposed development will generate just 30 trips per day on average including 22 heavy vehicle

movements, and 4 trips (1 heavy vehicle) during the development peak hours. The corresponding volumes

for The Ranch Poultry Production Complex (i.e. the 5 farms combined at full development = 16 sheds per

farm) are 150 trips per day on average including 110 heavy vehicle movements, and 20 trips (5 heavy

vehicles) during each of the development peaks. These volumes are still very low and, given the low

background traffic volumes currently occurring on Tysons Road and the low traffic volumes predicted to

occur on Kidman Way near Tysons Road in the future, they are not expected to cause any significant

operational issues (delays or queuing) at the Kidman Way / Tysons Road intersection.

An assessment of the intersection layout requirements at the Kidman Way / Tysons Road intersection to

accommodate the traffic collectively generated by The Ranch Farms 1, 2 and 3 was previously undertaken

as part of the TIA produced for the Ranch Farm 1 development (Traffic Impact Assessment – The Ranch

Poultry Production Complex – Farm 1 at Tysons Road (nr Kidman Way), Tabbita, NSW (RoadNet, 18

September 2015). The analysis was undertaken for a future design year of 2026 (the 10 year design horizon

for The Ranch Farm 1) and concluded that a BAL / BAR intersection layout (i.e. incorporating a basic left

turn treatment and a basic right turn treatment) would be suitable to accommodate the projected traffic

volumes arising from those 3 farms. The Ranch Farms 1 to 3 were subsequently approved by Council, with

the consent conditions for DA 2016/017 (i.e. The Ranch Farm 1) specifying the requirements at the Kidman

Way / Tysons Road intersection (refer Section 1.1.1 for details).

Since that time two additional farms (The Ranch Farms 4 and 5) have been proposed as part of The Ranch

Poultry Production Complex, as well as future expansions to The Ranch Farms 1 to 3 to increase their

capacity from 8 sheds per farm to 16 sheds per farm. Other poultry farms have also been approved or

proposed in the study area, including Maylands Farm B (approved) and Tabbita Poultry Farm 4 (proposed).

As a result of these changes, a further assessment of the requirements at the Kidman Way / Tysons Road is

considered to be appropriate to ensure that it can continue to service all of the future known developments in

the area.

The requirements for the layout of the Kidman Way / Tysons Road intersection have been re-assessed

using intersection warrants prescribed in Austroads Guide to Road Design, Part 4A: Unsignalised and

Signalised Intersections (AGRD Part 4A). The assessment has been based on peak hour traffic volume

forecasts for The Ranch Farm 5 design year of 2029 for the following scenarios:



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1) The Ranch Farm 5 development considered in ‘isolation’ - note that this scenario is based on the

future peak hour traffic volumes shown previously in Figure 3.1, which still assumes the Ranch

Farms 1 to 3 (8 sheds each) and The Ranch Farm 4 (16 sheds) are operational by the time The

Ranch Farm 5 development proceeds, and therefore generating traffic at this intersection in

addition to The Ranch Farm 5 development;

2) The Ranch Poultry Production Complex (i.e. the 5 farms collectively at full capacity of 16 sheds per

farm);

3) Total Cumulative Traffic - this scenario includes the traffic generated by other known developments

(approved or proposed) in the study area which will travel along Kidman Way through the subject

intersection, in addition to the traffic generated by the 5 farms at The Ranch Poultry Production

Complex. Peak hour volumes for the ‘other developments’ for this assessment (i.e. the farms that

are not part of The Ranch Poultry Production Complex) were assumed to be 10% of the predicted

daily trip generation shown in Table 4.2;

4) Total Cumulative Traffic including Peak Activity Traffic for The Ranch Farm 5 – this scenario is

similar to Scenario 3 above, but replaces the cycle-average traffic volumes for The Ranch Farm 5

with the peak activity traffic volumes associated with litter removal / shed cleanout as detailed in

Section 3.7. It is included as a sensitivity test to check that the proposed intersection arrangements

will continue to perform acceptably during periods of peak activity associated with The Ranch Farm

5 development.

The results are illustrated in Figure 5.1 below, with the red dots showing the left turn requirements for each

scenario, and the blue dots the right turn requirements (scenario nos. 1 - 4 are also annotated).

Figure 5.1: 2029 Access Turn Warrants (Extracted from Figure 4.9 from Austroads Guide to Road

Design, Part 4A: Unsignalised and Signalised Intersections)



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Figure 5.1 indicates that under all of the scenarios considered, including the worst case scenario (Scenario

4) in which all of the cumulative traffic from other known developments in the study area is superimposed

with full development of The Ranch Poultry Production Complex AND peak activity traffic volumes for The

Ranch Farm 5, the layout required at the Kidman Way / Tysons Road intersection remains that of a basic

right turn treatment (BAR) and a basic left turn treatment (BAL). This is the minimum intersection

requirement indicated in AGRD Part 4A, and would typically be applied to any new intersection constructed

on the State-controlled road network.

Figure 5.1 also shows that there is still room for the major road hourly traffic volume to increase by a further

50% on the worst case (Scenario 4) levels before a higher level of intersection treatment would be required,

thereby indicating that the proposed layout provides considerable spare capacity to accommodate short term

fluctuations in traffic flow.

The results of the analysis confirm that the BAL / BAR intersection arrangements currently proposed for

implementation at the Kidman Way / Tysons Road intersection in accordance with the consent conditions for

DA 2016/017 (i.e. The Ranch Farm 1) will continue to perform acceptably in the future during periods of peak

activity associated with The Ranch Farm 5 development, even after allowing for traffic generated by all of the

other known developments in the study area including The Ranch Poultry Production Complex at full

development. Specific operational measures to mitigate the cumulative impacts of the developments during

periods of peak activity are therefore considered to be unnecessary.

The development application for The Ranch Farm 5 is predicated on the assumption that any upgrades

require to be made to the Kidman Way / Tysons Road intersection will be implemented as part of The Ranch

Farm 1 development, prior to The Ranch Farm 5 development proceeding. As previously indicated, the DA

and EIS for The Ranch Farm 5 seek approval for the construction and use of the additional section of

internal access road between The Ranch Farm 4 and The Ranch Farm 5 only.

Based on the above, the currently proposed intersection upgrades at the Kidman Way / Tysons Road

intersection are suitable to accommodate The Ranch Farm 5 development proposal.

5.2 Access Road and Driveway to Development

Access to The Ranch Poultry Production Complex, which includes The Ranch Farm 5 development, is

proposed via a new internal access road connecting to Tysons Road approximately 1km east of the existing

Kidman Way / Tysons Road intersection. The exact location of the access road will be subject to detailed

design, but the indicative location is shown on the plans in Appendix A.

The section of Tysons Road adjacent to where the proposed access road will connect is currently unsealed.

Traffic entering and exiting The Ranch Farm 5 development site from/to Kidman Way would be required to

travel along approximately 750m of unsealed road, with only the first 285m (approx.) of Tysons Road sealed

from its intersection with Kidman Way. The unsealed section of road in question was observed from the site

visit conducted to be in good condition, and of a width suitable to enable large heavy vehicles up to the size

of B-Doubles to safely pass each other. For these reasons Tysons Road in its current form was considered

to be suitable for the scale of development previously proposed at The Ranch Poultry Production Complex

(i.e. Farms 1 to 3). Apart from regular maintenance, no additional upgrades were therefore proposed in the

TIAs prepared for those developments.



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However, as part of the consent conditions for The Ranch Farm 1, Council determined that Tysons Road

was to be upgraded from the end of the sealed section to the access gate of The Ranch Poultry Production

Complex “…with a finished 150mm gravel road-base at 6m wide and with a cross fall of 3%...”

With the addition of The Ranch Farms 4 and 5 to The Ranch Poultry Production Complex, and with the

future proposed expansion of The Ranch Farms 1 to 3 from 8 sheds to 16 sheds each, it is considered that

the potential impacts arising from the additional truck movements in terms of road deterioration and dust

generation warrant the provision of additional measures. As part of the development application for The

Ranch Farm 4 it has therefore been recommended that the unsealed section of Tysons Road between

Kidman Way and the proposed site access to The Ranch Poultry Production Complex (approx. 750m in

length), which will already have been upgraded in accordance with the consent conditions for The Ranch

Farm 1, be sealed prior to commencement of operations at The Ranch Farm 4 site.

Since it is intended that The Ranch Farm 4 will be operational before The Ranch Farm 5, this means that the

full length of Tysons Road between Kidman Way and the site access to The Ranch Poultry Production

Complex will be sealed prior to The Ranch Farm 5 development proceeding.

Development approvals for the new site entrance onto Tysons Road and the internal access road to The


prepared and lodged for that development. The consent conditions for that development specify the internal

access road and driveway requirements. No further assessment of the proposed site access driveway onto

Tysons Road is therefore required as part of this TIA.

Similarly, development approvals for the construction and operation of the additional sections of internal

access road between The Ranch Farm 1 and The Ranch Farm 2, and between The Ranch Farm 2 and The

Ranch Farm 3, were sought and granted (with associated consent conditions) as part of DA 2016/022 and

DA 2016/023 respectively. Approval for the construction and operation of the additional section of internal

access road between The Ranch Farm 3 and The Ranch Farm 4 has also been sought as part of the

application being lodged concurrently for The Ranch Farm 4.

The DA and EIS for The Ranch Farm 5 seek approval for the construction and use of the additional section

of internal access road between The Ranch Farm 4 and The Ranch Farm 5 only. The internal access

requirements for The Ranch Farm 5 are discussed in the next section.

5.3 Internal Access Requirements

The anticipated internal access arrangements, as shown on the layout plan in Appendix A, will provide

adequate and suitable vehicular access to the proposed poultry sheds via the construction of new all-

weather crossovers and rural-type roads able to carry the anticipated heavy vehicle traffic.

The development will include a one-way system to enable traffic to enter, exit and manoeuvre around the

poultry sheds for loading, unloading and servicing activities in a forward direction, thereby minimising the

potential for traffic conflict and noise. The one-way system will connect directly to the internal 4m wide site

access road with passing bays providing access from the site onto Tysons Road.

The internal roads will be constructed to a suitable strength and width to accommodate the expected heavy

vehicles. Parking will be available adjacent to the sheds to accommodate staff and visitor movements.



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6. CONSTRUCTION STAGING AND TRAFFIC

While construction planning details are still in the early stages for this development, the information in this

section seeks to provide a broad outline of the proposed construction activities and timing. A rough estimate

of the traffic volumes associated with the most intensive of the construction activities is also provided.

It is proposed that the five farms comprising The Ranch Poultry Production Complex will be constructed

consecutively, with indicative timeframes for the commencement of construction and operational activities at

each of the farms (subject to obtaining the relevant approvals) as follows:











The proposed expansions for Farms 1 to 3 discussed in previous sections of this report, subject to approval,

would not proceed until the above activities have been completed.

The Ranch Farm 5 development, which comprises of 16 poultry sheds and support infrastructure, is

expected to take about 12 months to construct and would commence operation in 2019 based on the above

schedule.

Access to the site during the construction stage will be provided via Kidman Way and Tysons Road, with the

proposed internal site access road extension between The Ranch Farm 4 and The Ranch Farm 5 (see

Section 5.2) to be constructed at commencement of the construction phase. This will connect to the sections

of new internal access road to be constructed in accordance with the recent development approvals granted

for The Ranch Farms 1 to 3, and pending approval for The Ranch Farm 4, as well as to the new site access

driveway onto Tysons Road to be constructed as part of The Ranch Farm 1 development, all of which will be

completed prior to commencement of construction activities for The Ranch Farm 5.

All construction-related traffic (including light vehicles associated with construction workers) will park within

the site during the construction phase.

The first stage of construction will comprise of undertaking the site earthworks, for which heavy earthmoving

equipment will need to be brought onto site. Once the earthmoving equipment is on site, workers will come

to and from the site daily.

Following substantial completion of the earthworks, construction of the poultry sheds will commence. Each

of the sheds will be 176m long x 18m wide (i.e. they will have an area of 3,168m2) and will be made up of



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concrete flooring, a fabricated structural steel framework, zincalume corrugated iron roof sheeting, and

insulated sandwich panel walls with a non-reflective colour-bond type material.

The concrete floor slab will be 100mm thick and will be poured over a duration of approximately 2 days for

each shed. It is proposed that the concrete will be transported to the site in ready mix batches.

Other building materials will generally be delivered on semi- trailers and in shipping containers over longer

periods of time and potentially throughout the duration of the construction period. At this stage no information

on quantities is available.

Equipment required for the fit-out of each shed will generally be delivered in shipping containers over a

period of a couple of weeks and stored on site until needed.

Given the limited information available on quantities at this stage it is not possible to accurately determine

the construction traffic volumes. However, the most intensive construction activity in terms of truck

movements to and from the site is expected to be associated with concrete deliveries.

Assuming an average quantity of 6m3 per concrete truck (typical) and a total volume of 3,168m2 x 100mm

depth = 317m3 of concrete required per shed, this equates to a total of 53 truckloads per shed (i.e. 106 trips

in/out). To complete a slab pour in 2 days would therefore require a total of approximately 53 trips per day

or approximately 5 trips per hour (average 2.5 in / 2.5 out) assuming a 10hr working day.

This level of activity would only arise during the slab pours. Apart from this there would be the odd truck

delivering other materials throughout the course of a typical day and a small number of light vehicle trips,

mostly concentrated around the construction shift start and end times, associated with construction workers.

Overall, it is concluded that the construction activities will generate only low traffic volumes, possibly in the

order of approximately 10-15 trips per day for The Ranch Farm 5 development excluding concrete deliveries,

and will occur for a duration of approximately 12 months. While higher volumes of traffic will occur during

the concrete pours, adding an additional 5 trips per hour on average, these will be concentrated over a

shorter period averaging 2 days per shed and will be able to be easily accommodated on the adjoining road

network.

The impacts arising from construction traffic are therefore expected to be low, and any mitigation treatments

identified in the previous TIAs produced for The Ranch Farm 1, The Ranch Farm 2, The Ranch Farm 3 and

The Ranch Farm 4 developments, or in this report, to address the operational traffic impacts of the

developments are expected to be sufficient to also address the construction traffic impacts.



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7. IMPACTS ON ADJOINING ROAD NETWORK

7.1 Kidman Way

The additional traffic generated by the development proposal is minimal and will not have any significant

impact on the safety or operation of the external road network. The Ranch Farm 5 development is expected

to generate up to 30 vehicle trips per day on average, including 22 heavy vehicle trips per day (approx 1 per

peak hour) and 8 car trips per day (approx 3 per peak hour). The majority of this traffic is predicted to use the

section of Kidman Way to the south of Tysons Road, with only a very small volume of traffic generated by

the development predicted to use Kidman Way to the north of Tysons Road.

The forecast background traffic volumes on Kidman Way are low and the additional traffic generated by the

development can be easily accommodated.

The following table shows the future forecast daily background traffic volumes in 2029 along the section of

Kidman Way immediately to the south of Tysons Road, and the additional traffic generated by this

development proposal. The table excludes traffic generated by other developments that either currently

exist in the area, such as the Jeanella Poultry Production Complex, or which are proposed/approved

(including the other farms proposed as part of The Ranch Poultry Production Complex, Jeanella South

Poultry Farm, Maylands Farms A and B, and Tabbita Poultry Farms 1, 2, 3 and 4) as previously discussed in

Section 4. A separate discussion on the cumulative impacts of the proposed development with other

developments in the area is provided in Section 7.6.

Future Forecast Traffic Volumes on Kidman Way south of Tysons Road (2029)

Background Traffic

Vehicle Trips Per Day

Additional Generated Traffic

Vehicle Trips Per Day* Percentage Increase

Cars HVs Total Cars HVs Total Cars HVs Total

1013 251 1264 6 22 28 <1% 8.8% 2.2%

*excludes minor volume of traffic generated to/from Kidman Way north of Tysons Road

Table 7.1 – Percentage Increase in Vehicle Trips on External Road Network from The Ranch Farm 5

Car trips on Kidman Way immediately to the south of Tysons Road are expected to increase, on an average

day, by less than 1% with the proposed development, with most of these occurring around the start and end

of the farm workers shift (i.e. 7am and 4pm). The increase for heavy vehicles is a bit higher at 8.8%,

however, this is due to the relatively low volume of heavy vehicles in the background traffic. The increase in

heavy vehicles as a result of the proposed development is still only approximately 1 veh/hr during the peak

periods.

The volume of background traffic on Kidman Way is higher at locations closer to Griffith as discussed in

Section 2.4.2. The percentage increase in traffic arising from The Ranch Farm 5 development will therefore

be even less at those locations.



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The above assessment is based on average daily traffic volumes over the production cycle. As discussed in

Section 3.7, it is recognised that there are also peak traffic generating periods for the development

associated with specific activities which could potentially give rise to higher numbers of vehicle movements,

and in particular heavy vehicles, over those specific periods. An assessment of peak activities during the

production cycle indicates that the litter removal / shed cleanout phase represents the worst case from a

potential traffic impact perspective, with a peak traffic generation of 85 vehicles per day (170 trips per day)

estimated on Day 57 of the production cycle. The composition of these trips is approximately 140 heavy

vehicle trips per day and 30 car trips per day.

Comparison of these peak activity volumes to the background volumes in Table 7.1 (i.e. assuming all peak

activity traffic has an origin/destination from/to the south as an approximation) indicates percentage

increases of 3% for cars, 56% for heavy vehicles and 13% for all vehicles combined. As expected the

biggest increase in traffic during the peak activity period is associated with the additional heavy vehicles,

which would increase from 251 trips/day to 391 trips/day. However, the resulting volume of heavy vehicles

is still very low, equating to an average of 5-10 trips per hour each way, which can easily be accommodated

on Kidman Way.

Overall, it is concluded that the additional trips generated by the proposed development are low and are not

expected to have any operational impacts on the external road network. Kidman Way is easily able to

accommodate the additional traffic generated by the proposal.

7.2 Heavy Vehicle Routes used by Development

As discussed in Section 3.6, heavy vehicles will generally travel to and from the site from facilities located in

and around Hanwood (6km south of Griffith) and Griffith via Kidman Way. The largest vehicles currently

expected to service the development are semi-trailers, however, it is possible that future contractors may

choose to use B-Doubles.

A designated B-double route currently exists along Kidman Way. Kidman Way is also an approved Road

Train Route. The daily volume of traffic along Kidman Way is currently low, ranging from approximately

1,000 veh/day in the vicinity of Tabbita (i.e. near the proposed development site) to between approximately

3,000 and 6,000 veh/day within the immediately vicinity of Griffith depending on the location. Corresponding

numbers of heavy vehicles range from approximately 200 to 300 veh/day based on the available data.

The additional 22 heavy vehicle trips per day on average (1 in each of the peak hours for the development)

along Kidman Way associated with The Ranch Farm 5 development proposal are not expected to have any

significant traffic impacts. Furthermore, even in the worst case during the litter removal / shed cleanout

phase, the corresponding peak activity trip generation of 140 heavy vehicle trips per day can be readily

accommodated on Kidman Way as discussed in the previous section and will only occur over a relatively

short period.

It is concluded that the routes that will be used by the development are suitable for the types of vehicle

movements that will be generated and have sufficient facilities to accommodate the additional heavy

vehicles generated by the proposal. No upgrades to roadways or intersections (other than those which have

already been proposed as part of The Ranch Farm 1 development proposal (DA 2016/017)) are anticipated

to be required on the external road network.



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7.3 Intersections

7.3.1 Kidman Way / Tysons Road Intersection

As discussed in previous sections of this report, access to the proposed development and The Ranch

Poultry Production Complex as a whole will be achieved via Tysons Road and its existing intersection with

Kidman Way.

An assessment of the increase in traffic volumes that will occur on Kidman Way at this intersection was

provided in Section 7.1, which concluded that the additional trips generated by the proposed development

are low and not expected to have any adverse operational impacts on the external road network. It is

expected for the low volumes involved that the intersection will continue to operate at a level of service ‘A’

with minimal delays and queuing.

Nevertheless, a number of improvements to this intersection are proposed for implementation as part of the

consent conditions for The Ranch Farm 1 development (DA 2016/017) which include upgrading the layout to

provide a BAL / BAR configuration. The development application for The Ranch Farm 5 is predicated on the

assumption that any upgrades required to be made to the Kidman Way / Tysons Road intersection will be

implemented as part of The Ranch Farm 1 development, prior to The Ranch Farm 5 development

proceeding. As previously indicated, the DA and EIS for The Ranch Farm 5 seeks approval for the

construction and use of the additional section of internal access road between The Ranch Farm 4 and The

Ranch Farm 5 only.

As discussed in Section 5.1, the requirements for the layout of the Kidman Way / Tysons Road intersection

have been re-assessed using intersection warrants prescribed in Austroads Guide to Road Design, Part 4A:

Unsignalised and Signalised Intersections (AGRD Part 4A), in order to ensure that the approved layout will

be able to accommodate the traffic generated by additional developments previously unknown of which are

now proposed at The Ranch Poultry Production Complex and within the broader study area. A total of 4

separate scenarios have been considered in this process.

The analysis indicates that under all of the scenarios considered, including the worst case scenario

(Scenario 4) in which all of the cumulative traffic from other known developments in the study area is

superimposed with full development of The Ranch Poultry Production Complex AND peak activity traffic

volumes for The Ranch Farm 5, the layout required at the Kidman Way / Tysons Road intersection remains

a BAL / BAR. Furthermore, the analysis concludes that the major road hourly traffic volume could increase

by a further 50% on the worst case (Scenario 4) levels before a higher level of intersection treatment would

be required. The proposed layout therefore provides considerable spare capacity to accommodate short

term fluctuations in traffic flow.

The results of the analysis confirm that the BAL / BAR intersection arrangements currently proposed for

implementation at the Kidman Way / Tysons Road intersection will continue to perform acceptably in the

future during periods of peak activity associated with The Ranch Farm 5 development, even after allowing

for traffic generated by all of the other known developments in the study area including The Ranch Poultry

Production Complex at full development.

Based on the above, the currently proposed intersection upgrades at the Kidman Way / Tysons Road

intersection are suitable to accommodate The Ranch Farm 5 development proposal.



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7.3.2 Proposed Site Access Driveway

As discussed in Section 5.2, the existing unsealed section of Tysons Road between the end of the existing

seal, located approximately 285m to the east of Kidman Way, and the proposed site access approximately

750m further to the east is in good condition and of a width suitable to enable large heavy vehicles up to the

size of B-Doubles to safely pass each other. Previous TIAs prepared for The Ranch Farms 1 to 3 have

therefore concluded that the existing formation is acceptable with regular maintenance without the need for

further improvements.

However, as part of the consent conditions for The Ranch Farm 1, Council determined that Tysons Road

was to be upgraded from the end of the sealed section to the access gate of The Ranch Poultry Production

Complex “…with a finished 150mm gravel road-base at 6m wide and with a cross fall of 3%...”

With the addition of The Ranch Farms 4 and 5 to The Ranch Poultry Production Complex, and with the

future proposed expansion of The Ranch Farms 1 to 3 from 8 sheds to 16 sheds each, it is considered that

the potential impacts arising from the additional truck movements in terms of road deterioration and dust

generation warrant the provision of additional measures.

As part of the development application for The Ranch Farm 4, it has therefore been recommended that the

unsealed section of Tysons Road between Kidman Way and the proposed site access to The Ranch Poultry

Production Complex (approx. 750m in length), which will already have been upgraded in accordance with

the consent conditions for The Ranch Farm 1, be sealed prior to commencement of operations at The Ranch

Farm 4 site.




The future access driveway connecting the internal site access road to Tysons Road will be implemented as

part of The Ranch Farm 1 development, prior to The Ranch Farm 5 development proceeding. No further

assessment of the proposed site access driveway onto Tysons Road is therefore required as part of this TIA.

7.4 Pedestrians and Cyclists

The site is located in a lowly-populated rural area, removed from urban residential areas. It is unlikely staff

would travel to the site via bicycle or walking. Therefore the provision of cycle and pedestrian facilities to and

from the site is not considered necessary.

Within the site adequate provision should be made for pedestrians to move safely around the site.

7.5 Impacts during Construction

As discussed in detail in Section 6, there is not expected to be any significant impact to the external road

network during construction of the proposal.

Access to the site during the construction stage will be provided via Kidman Way and Tysons Road, with the

proposed internal site access road extension between The Ranch Farm 4 and The Ranch Farm 5 (see

Section 5.2) to be constructed at commencement of the construction phase. This will connect to the sections



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of new internal access road to be constructed in accordance with the recent development approvals for The

Ranch Farms 1 to 3, and pending approval for The Ranch Farm 4, as well as to the new site access

driveway onto Tysons Road to be constructed as part of The Ranch Farm 1 development, all of which will be

completed prior to commencement of construction activities for The Ranch Farm 5.

All construction-related traffic (including light vehicles associated with construction workers) will park within

the site during the construction phase.

Construction of the poultry sheds, internal roads and other infrastructure for The Ranch Farm 5 will generate

some heavy vehicle movements associated with deliveries of materials, equipment etc. This will also attract

construction employee trips to the site. The most intensive construction activity in terms of truck movements

to and from the site is expected to be associated with concrete deliveries during construction of the concrete

floor slabs for each poultry shed. It is estimated that a total of approximately 53 trips per day, or

approximately 5 trips per hour (average 2.5 in / 2.5 out), will occur for a duration of up to two days for the

construction of each concrete slab.

Apart from this there would be the odd truck delivering other materials throughout the course of a typical day

and a small number of light vehicle trips, mostly concentrated around the construction shift start and end

times, associated with construction workers.

Overall, it is concluded that the construction activities will generate only low traffic volumes, possibly in the

order of approximately 10-15 trips per day for The Ranch Farm 5 development excluding concrete deliveries,

and will occur for a duration of approximately 12 months. The impacts arising from construction traffic are

therefore expected to be low, and any mitigation treatments identified in the previous TIAs produced for The

Ranch Farm 1, The Ranch Farm 2, The Ranch Farm 3 and The Ranch Farm 4 developments, or in this

report, to address the operational traffic impacts of the development are expected to be sufficient to also

address the construction traffic impacts.

7.6 Cumulative Impacts of Developments

Previous sections have primarily considered the traffic impacts of The Ranch Farm 5 development in

isolation from other known developments in the area. This section examines the potential cumulative

impacts arising from all of the developments.

As discussed in detail in Section 4, a number of developments have either recently been approved and

constructed, or are proposed (i.e. development application lodged or imminent). These developments

include:

The Ranch Poultry Production Complex – Farms 1 to 5 (16 sheds/farm at full development)

Jeanella Poultry Production Complex (existing).

Jeanella South Poultry Production Complex.

Maylands Farm A.

Maylands Farm B.

Tabbita Poultry Farm 1.




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The cumulative volume of traffic generated by these developments on Tysons Road and Kidman Way to the

north and south of Tysons Road was previously estimated and presented in Table 4.2. As stated previously,

the estimated volumes are based on traffic generation data prepared separately (in some cases by other

parties) as part of the TIAs for those developments, and have been adopted without change for the purposes

of this assessment.

Comparing these volumes to the future background traffic estimated to use these roads in the design year of

2029, the following changes in traffic are predicted:

Future Forecast Traffic Volumes (2029)

including Cumulative Traffic Generated by Developments

Background Traffic

Vehicle Trips Per Day1,2

Additional Generated Traffic

Vehicle Trips Per Day Percentage Increase

Cars HVs Total Cars HVs Total Cars HVs Total

Tysons Road (east of

Kidman Way) 10 10 20 40 110 150 400% 1100% 750%

Kidman Way (north of

Tysons Road) 1015 249 1264 112 214 326 11% 86% 26%

Kidman Way (south of

Tysons Road) 1013 251 1264 132 324 456 13% 129% 36%

1. Background traffic for Tysons Road estimated based on 2015 site observations.

2. Background traffic volumes for Kidman Way estimated using 2011 traffic count at Tabbita in Table 2.1 and 1.5% p.a. linear growth rate to design year of 2029, with small adjustments

north and south of Tysons Road to allow for estimated background turning volumes. Values south of Tysons Road same as presented in Table 7.1.

Table 7.2 – Cumulative Increase in Vehicle Trips on External Road Network from all Known Developments

The results show that all of the developments collectively still only result in an increase of 26-36% in the total

daily volumes on the subject sections of Kidman Way at the future design year of 2029. The forecast

percentage increase in heavy vehicle movements is substantially higher at 86% to 129%, however, the

resulting volumes are still very low and easily accommodated on Kidman Way which is a designated B-

Double and Road Train route.

Although there is a substantial increase in the volume of traffic predicted to use Tysons Road when

compared to the estimated current usage which is very low, the total predicted volume of 170 vehicles per

day (20 background trips + 150 generated trips associated with full development of The Ranch Poultry

Production Complex) is still extremely low and is not predicted to result in any capacity or operational issues,

particularly if the road is sealed as part of the recommendations made for The Ranch Farm 4 development

application.

The above assessment is based on average daily traffic volumes over the production cycle. If the worst

case peak activity scenario of litter removal / shed cleanout is considered as discussed previously in

Sections 3.7 and 7.1, a peak traffic generation of 85 vehicles per day (170 trips per day) is estimated to



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occur for The Ranch Farm 5 on Day 57 of the production cycle, comprising of approximately 140 heavy

vehicle trips per day and 30 car trips per day.

Assuming all peak activity traffic has an origin/destination from/to the south as an approximation,

comparison of these peak activity volumes (in combination with the other cumulative volumes previously

assessed for the other developments) to the background volumes in Table 7.1 indicates percentage

increases of 15% for cars, 176% for heavy vehicles and 47% for all vehicles combined. As expected the

biggest increase in traffic during the peak activity period is associated with the additional heavy vehicles,

which would increase from 251 trips/day to 693 trips/day on Kidman Way to the south of Tysons Road, with

all of the other cumulative development traffic included. However, the resulting volume of heavy vehicles is

still very low, equating to an average of 10-15 trips per hour each way, which can still easily be

accommodated on Kidman Way.

Based on the information that is available, the cumulative impacts of the known developments appear to be

acceptable even after allowing for the worst case peak activity traffic for The Ranch Farm 5 development,

and do not require additional improvements or upgrades beyond those already proposed in this TIA.

Furthermore, specific operational measures to mitigate the cumulative impacts of the developments during

periods of peak activity are considered to be unnecessary.



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8. CONCLUSIONS

The proposed development involves the construction of an intensive poultry broiler production farm referred

to as The Ranch Farm 5, comprising of 16 tunnel-ventilated fully-enclosed climate-controlled poultry sheds

where broiler birds will be grown for human consumption. The development will be able to accommodate up

to approximately 800,000 broiler birds at any one time. Operations will occur 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The proposed development is one of five farms, collectively referred to as The Ranch Poultry Production

Complex, which are proposed for development on adjoining lots within the study area. Separate

development approvals for the first 3 farms known as The Ranch Farms 1, 2 and 3, each comprising of 8

poultry sheds, were granted by Carrathool Shire Council in December 2015. Separate DA’s and EIS’s are

now being prepared for The Ranch Farms 4 and 5, each of which will have 16 sheds, and these are

expected to be lodged concurrently in February 2016. Each of the farms will ultimately (with future proposed

expansions from 8 sheds to 16 sheds for The Ranch Farms 1, 2 and 3) be of the same size and have the

same operational characteristics.

Access to the proposed development and also The Ranch Poultry Production Complex as a whole is

proposed via a new internal 4m wide access road with passing bays which connects to Tysons Road (a local

rural road) approximately 1km east of the existing Kidman Way / Tysons Road intersection. The new site

entrance onto Tysons Road and the section of internal access road connecting this to The Ranch Farm 1 will

be constructed as part of The Ranch Farm 1 development, prior to The Ranch Farm 5 proceeding. No

further changes to the site access driveway are required to be made for The Ranch Farm 5 development.

Similarly, the additional sections of internal access road between The Ranch Farm 1 and The Ranch Farm

2, and between The Ranch Farm 2 and The Ranch Farm 3, will be constructed as part of The Ranch Farm 2

and The Ranch Farm 3 developments respectively, prior to The Ranch Farm 5 development proceeding.





It is anticipated that the direction of travel for heavy vehicles and the majority of staff vehicles will

predominantly be to and from Hanwood and Griffith to the south via Kidman Way, with most traffic turning

right into and left out of Tysons Road at its intersection with Kidman Way.

The Ranch Farm 5 development will generate an average of 30 vehicle trips per day (22 heavy vehicle trips

and 8 car trips) and 4 trips per hour during the peak generating times of the proposal (1 heavy vehicle trip

and 3 car trips). Existing and future background traffic volumes on Kidman Way are relatively low and

additional traffic from the proposal can be easily accommodated. It is not expected to cause any significant

impacts in terms of road safety or operation.

An assessment of the traffic generation arising from the peak activities that occur during the 63 day

production cycle for The Ranch Farm 5 has also been undertaken. The peak activity periods for The Ranch

Farm 5 are associated with live bird removal and litter removal/shed cleanout. Of these, the litter

removal/shed cleanout phase provides the worst case for assessing potential traffic impacts, with a peak

traffic generation of 85 vehicles per day (170 trips per day) estimated to occur on Day 57 of the production

cycle, with the majority of these trips occurring during daylight hours (say 7am to 7pm). Assuming a uniform



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distribution of traffic arrivals and departures from The Ranch Farm 5 development over this period, this

equates to approximately 7 vehicles per hour (14 trips per hour).

By contrast, live bird removal is scheduled to occur between 7pm one day and 4pm the following day,

although for reasons of livestock welfare they would generally be removed overnight and in the morning

when it is cooler and the birds are more settled. Assuming 80% of the trips occur during 7pm to 9am and

the remaining 20% between 9am and 4pm, the peak activity volume of 82 vehicles per day (164 trips per

day) on Day 54 approximates to a maximum hourly volume of 5 vehicles per hour (10 trips per hour) during

7pm-9am (when traffic volumes on the adjacent road network are for the majority of that period quite low)

and only 3 vehicles per hour (6 trips per hour) during 9am-4pm. The additional trips in both periods are lower

than those predicted to occur during the litter removal / shed cleanout phase.

While the daily peak activity volumes for both the live bird removal phase and also the litter removal / shed

cleanout phase are considerably higher than the cycle-average volumes, the increase in hourly traffic

volumes is relatively modest in both cases and is not expected to result in any significant changes to the

conclusions drawn based on using cycle-average volumes.

A number of improvements to the Kidman Way / Tysons Road intersection are proposed in accordance with

the consent conditions for The Ranch Farm 1 development (DA 2016/017), which include upgrading the

layout to provide a BAL / BAR configuration. The development application for The Ranch Farm 5 is

predicated on the assumption that any upgrades required to be made to this intersection will be implemented

prior to The Ranch Farm 5 development proceeding. The requirements for the layout of the intersection

have been re-assessed using intersection warrants prescribed in Austroads Guide to Road Design, Part 4A:

Unsignalised and Signalised Intersections (AGRD Part 4A), in order to ensure that the approved layout will

be able to accommodate the traffic generated by additional developments previously unknown which are

now proposed at The Ranch Poultry Production Complex and within the broader study area. A total of 4

separate scenarios were considered in this process.

The analysis indicates that under all of the scenarios considered, including the worst case scenario

(Scenario 4) in which all of the cumulative traffic from other known developments in the study area is

superimposed with full development of The Ranch Poultry Production Complex AND peak activity traffic

volumes for The Ranch Farm 5, the layout required at the Kidman Way / Tysons Road intersection remains

a BAL / BAR. Furthermore, the analysis concludes that the major road hourly traffic volume could increase

by a further 50% on the worst case (Scenario 4) levels before a higher level of intersection treatment would

be required. The proposed layout therefore provides considerable spare capacity to accommodate short

term fluctuations in traffic flow and is suitable without further change to accommodate The Ranch Farm 5

proposal.

As part of the application for The Ranch Farm 4, which is being lodged concurrently with The Ranch 5

application, it has been recommended that the unsealed section of Tysons Road between Kidman Way and

the proposed site access to The Ranch Poultry Production Complex (approx. 750m in length) be sealed prior

to commencement of operations at The Ranch Farm 4 site. Council has already determined as part of the

consent conditions for The Ranch Farm 1 that the subject section of Tysons Road should be upgraded to

provide a finished 150mm gravel road-base 6m in width with a crossfall of 3%. However, with the addition of

The Ranch Farms 4 and 5 to The Ranch Poultry Production Complex, and with the future proposed

expansion of The Ranch Farms 1 to 3 from 8 sheds to 16 sheds each, it is considered that the potential



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impacts arising from the additional truck movements in terms of road deterioration and dust generation

warrant the provision of additional measures.




As mentioned previously the heavy vehicles servicing the site will generally travel to and from facilities in and

around Hanwood and Griffith to the south using Kidman Way. Kidman Way is a designated B-double and

Road Train route. It is suitable in its current form for the low daily volume of heavy vehicles generated by the

development proposal, without the need for further road or intersection improvements (other than those

which have already been proposed as part of The Ranch Farm 1 development proposal).

Internal roads for the development will be constructed to accommodate heavy vehicles and the operation will

allow one way traffic flow around the poultry sheds to avoid conflicts in servicing. The one-way system will

connect directly to the internal site access road providing access from the site onto Tysons Road.

Construction of the proposed development will generate some heavy vehicle movements associated with

deliveries of materials, equipment etc, in addition to generating additional light vehicle trips for staff. The

most intensive construction activity in terms of truck movements to and from the site is expected to be

associated with concrete deliveries during construction of the concrete floor slabs for each poultry shed. It is

estimated that a total of approximately 53 trips per day (approximately 5 trips per hour) will occur for a

duration of up to two days for the construction of each concrete slab.

Apart from this there would be the odd truck delivering other materials throughout the course of a typical day

and a small number of light vehicle trips, mostly concentrated around the construction shift start and end

times, associated with construction workers. All constructed-related traffic will park on site. Overall, it is

concluded that the construction activities will generate only low traffic volumes, possibly in the order of

approximately 10-15 trips per day for The Ranch Farm 5 development excluding concrete deliveries, and will

be for a relatively short term (i.e. duration of 12 months). The impacts arising from construction traffic are

therefore expected to be low and any mitigation treatments identified in the previous TIAs produced for The

Ranch Farms 1 to 4, or in this report, to address the operational traffic impacts of the development are

expected to be sufficient to also address the construction traffic impacts.

The cumulative traffic impacts of a number of known developments in the study area, including the existing

Jeanella Poultry Production Complex, the proposed Jeanella South Poultry Farm, Maylands Farms A and B,

Tabbita Poultry Farms 1, 2, 3 and 4 and the other four farms of The Ranch Poultry Production Complex at

full development have been examined in conjunction with The Ranch Farm 5 development proposal. The

analysis concludes that the resulting volumes on the relevant sections of those roads collectively used by

some or all of the developments (namely Tysons Road east of Kidman Way, Kidman Way north of Tysons

Road and Kidman Way south of Tysons Road) are still predicted to be relatively low at the design year of

2029 and easily accommodated by these roads.

Even when the assessment is undertaken with the peak activity traffic generation for The Ranch Farm 5

included, the resulting volume of heavy vehicles equates to an average of 10-15 trips per hour each way on

the section of Kidman Way to the south of Tysons Road, which is still able to be easily accommodated.

Based on the information available, the cumulative impacts of the known developments therefore appear to

be acceptable and do not require additional improvements or upgrades. Furthermore, specific operational



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measures to mitigate the cumulative impacts of the developments during periods of peak activity are

considered to be unnecessary.

Provided the recommendations made in this report and also in the previous applications for The Ranch

Farms 1 to 4 are met, the proposal for The Ranch Farm 5 is not expected to cause any significant impacts in

terms of road safety or operation, and there are no issues associated with traffic to reject the proposal.



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9. RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Construct the internal roads proposed for The Ranch Farm 5 development, including the additional

section of internal site access road between The Ranch Farm 4 and The Ranch Farm 5, to a

suitable strength and width to accommodate the expected heavy vehicle movements and their turn

path requirements.



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APPENDIX A

PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT LOCATION AND LAYOUT



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Location Plan

“THE RANCH” FARM 5 SITE



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APPENDIX B

REVISED TRIP GENERATION FOR THE RANCH FARMS 1, 2 AND 3 (8-SHED ONLY)



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Table 1 - Estimated Operational Traffic Volumes – Production Cycle and Annual

The Ranch Farms 1, 2 and 3 (8 poultry sheds per farm)

Activity Vehicle Type

Vehicles (Two Way Vehicle Trips)

Production Cycle

(approx. 9 weeks)

Annual

(approx. 5.7 cycles)

Heavy Vehicles

Delivery of shed bedding material Twin axle rigid truck 15 (30) 86 (172)

Delivery of chicks Semi- trailer 6 (12) 34 (68)

Delivery of feed Semi-trailer 90 (180) 513 (1026)

Delivery of fuel Rigid tanker 1 (2) 6 (12)

Delivery of LPG Rigid tanker 2 (4) 11 (22)

Removal of birds Semi-trailer 90 (180) 513 (1026)

Removal of birds – catching equipment

transporter Semi-trailer 20 (40) 114 (228)

Removal of birds – catching staff Bus 20 (40) 114 (228)

Removal of shed litter material Semi-trailer 36 (72) 205 (410)

Shed wash down equipment transporter Semi-trailer 20 (40) 114 (228)

Removal of dead birds Twin axle rigid truck 30 (60) 171 (342)

Removal of garbage Rigid truck 1 (2) 6 (12)

Heavy Vehicle Sub-Total 331 (662) 1887 (3774)

Light Vehicles

Staff Visits Car 160 (320) 912 (1824)

Tradesman Ute / Van 9 (18) 51 (102)

Catching equipment maintenance Van 4 (8) 23 (46)

Shed litter material removal contractors Car 10 (20) 57 (114)

Shed wash down contractors Car 4 (8) 23 (46)

Light Vehicle Sub-Total 187 (374) 1066 (2132)

TOTAL 518 (1036) 2953 (5906)

Table 2 - Estimated Operational Traffic Volumes – Peak Hour and Daily

The Ranch Farms 1, 2 and 3 (8 poultry sheds per farm)


(Vehicle Trips)

AM Peak Hour

Movements

PM Peak Hour

Movements




NOTE: All traffic volumes presented in Tables 1 and 2 are provided on a per-farm basis.

Traffic Impact Assessment (RoadNet 2016)...RoadNet Pty Ltd has been engaged by Scolexia Pty Ltd...

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