CRAA Traffic Assessment
Council required a Traffic Assessment in order to make a final decision on the request by the proponent to amend the current license to allow for a 24 hour a day operation. That report was not provided.
READ THE CRAA’S TRAFFIC ASSESMENT AND THE IMPACT TO OUR LOCAL ROADS AND TAX BURDENS
TRAFFIC ESTIMATE REVIEW
An application to Cramahe Council has been made to increase operations of the the proponent Pit located on Part Lot 19 Concession 3, 13945 Telephone Rd. Cramahe Township to 24/7 and ultimately the placement of a Permanent Asphalt Plant on-site.
Although Council has requested one, the proponent has not provided a traffic study or any such related information. This estimate is a professional effort to inform both Council and the public.
AN ASPHALT PLANT WILL HAVE A SIGNIFIGANT IMPACT ON TRUCK TRAFFIC and NOISE
Significant increase in truck traffic will be a result of placement of an Asphalt Plant at the location.
Herein is a traffic estimate developed by a Professional Engineer, under the guidance of an experienced Sr. Civil Engineer, Chief Estimator, and confirmed using public asphalt calculating tools.
SUMMARY
For each kilometre of highway paved, at least 82 truck trips are required and up to a maximum of 326 truck trips. These trips could increase due to project specifics. This figure includes delivery of raw materials in plus asphalt delivery out to site.
For a 401 MTO project that requires asphalt delivery, each km of single lane highway paved requires 40 to 160 asphalt truck trips during the night time.
In an 8 hour shift, that equates from 1 trip every 12 minutes up to 1 trip every 3 minutes, during the night shift.
To put this into broader perspective, to deliver raw materials to the asphalt plant and then deliver asphalt to the site to pave the 401, East AND West lanes, from Cobourg to Brighton, would require at least 11,940 trips up to 47,320 trips travelling down Telephone Road over the contract period.
See Exhibit 1 and Exhibit 2 for calculation details.
CONCLUSION
Asphalt and raw materials would move via Telephone Road which is of tar and chip construction and not designed to handle the excessive weight and traffic volume, and the significant hills to navigate. Furthermore, Telephone Road is not identified as an established truck haul route for asphalt in the Northumberland County Official Plan, approved as of November 23, 2016.
By permitting an Asphalt Plant, the ensuing truck traffic would:
Damage Local Roads: Increased heavy truck traffic will cause extensive damage to local roads, leading to costly repairs.
The fees paid by the proponent are unlikely to cover the damage which will be substantial.
Put a Tax Burden on Cramahe Residents: The uncovered costs of maintaining and repairing roads will likely fall on local taxpayers if no agreement is in place with the proponent to maintain the road, over and above the levy paid.
Contravene the Northumberland County Official Plan as Telephone Road is not identified as an established truck haul route.
Increase Noise Pollution:
This pit is located in a quiet rural area. The operation of dump-trucks, generates high levels of noise from traffic, back-up alarms and slamming of tail gates, and the plant is planned to run 24/7.
Incessant, loud banging of dump-truck tail-gates is intolerable for neighboring residents.
Trucks will need to shift gears going up the steep hills, and use engine braking going down those hills.
An MTO Contract on the 401 would require night-time travel by trucks. A further 401 widening contract would result in continued, daily excessive, long-term night-time traffic noise resulting in Sleep Disturbance leading to insomnia, fatigue, and increased stress.
Chronic exposure to noise is proven to lead to hearing loss, increased stress levels, and cardiovascular problems.
Increase the Risk of Serious Accidents: The combination of heavy trucks, school buses, local traffic and challenging terrain raises the likelihood of serious vehicular accidents, including hazardous spills, over a wide area between the 401 exits at Brighton and Colborne.
Restrict Homeowners' Access to Roads: Heavy traffic will impede or restrict access to roads for local homeowners.
Increase Environmental Consequences of Bitumen Spills: Any bitumen spill could have a severe environmental impact, particularly given that the access roads are close to a protected water zone and to numerous dwellings served only by well water.
EXHIBIT 1. TRUCK TRAFFIC ESTIMATE METHOD and CALCULATIONS
ASSUMPTIONS
Anecdotally the property is exhausted of gravel deposits, so ALL RAW MATERIALS will need to be trucked in and stored on-site.
Asphalt composition to estimate mix of trucks to tankers was gravel 93% and bitumen 7%
Capacity of Dump/Asphalt Truck (3 axles) 25 tonnes
Capacity of Bitumen Tanker 18 tonnes
Minimum road spec: 4M wide by 50mm thick
Maximum road spec: 4M wide by 200 mm thick
Calculations done per 1 km (1000 M)
Weight in metric tonnes (2,200 pounds)
ASPHALT VOLUME CALCULATION
To calculate volume of Asphalt required, an experienced industry source was contacted. The formula he provided and was verified was:
Volume of asphalt X .0025*
length(M) x width(M) x depth(mm) x 0.0025 = total (tonnes)
*The factor 0.0025 is based on an approximate density of 2.5 tonnes per cubic metre. There are variables that can affect the density depending on the asphalt mix to be used but this is a reasonable approximation.
Tonnage of asphalt estimated was calculated per kilometre for Minimum Road spec and a Maximum Road spec.
TRIPS CALCULATION
Trips were estimated based on.
A) INCOMING Gravel & Bitumen Trucks bringing Raw materials
B) OUTGOING EMPTY Gravel & Bitumen trucks returning to source
C) INCOMING EMPTY asphalt transport trucks
D) OUTGOING asphalt transport trucks required to pave the road.
SUMMARY OF CALCULATION RESULTS FOR SINGLE LANE PAVING
EXHIBIT 2. TRUCK TRAFFIC ESTIMATE SAMPLE CALCULATIONS FOR 2-LANE 401 WIDENING PROJECT
EXAMPLE CALCULATION USING MINIMUM ROAD SPEC (50 mm asphalt)
Estimated Tonnage Based on Minimum Specifications
For a 1 km section of a single-lane highway, with:
Lane width: 4 meters
Average thickness: 50 mm
Calculation:
1000m(1km)×4m(width)×50mm(depth)×0.0025=500 tonnes of Hot Mix Asphalt required For single lane of the 401 project:
Truck Capacity Assumptions
Tri-axle dump trucks: 22–25 tonnes per load (use 25 tonnes for calculations)
Trailers: 38–42 tonnes per load
Bitumen tankers: Typically, 20–40 tonnes (use 18 tonnes per tanker due to road limit of 10 tonnes/axle)
Truck Trips for Raw Material Delivery
Materials must be trucked in:
Gravel (93% of mix): 465 tonnes÷25 tonnes/truck=19
Bitumen (7% of mix): 35 tonnes÷18 tonnes/tanker=2
Return Trips for Empty Trucks
Since trucks return empty, additional trips must be accounted for:
Empty gravel trucks returning: 19 trips
Empty bitumen tankers returning: 2 trips
Truck Trips for Hot Asphalt Mix Delivery
Asphalt required for single lane: 500 tonnes÷25 tonnes/load=20 trips OUT per km
Empty asphalt trucks returning: 20 trips
Total Truck Trips per km (Single Lane)
Raw material deliveries+empty return trips+hot asphalt deliveries+empty asphalt truck returns (19+2)+(19+2)+20+20=82 truck/tanker movements per km
For every 1 km of minimum spec, single lane highway expansion (one direction only), a total of 82 truck/tanker trips are required.
For every 1 km of minimum spec, single lane highway expansion (East and West bound directions), a total of 164 truck/tanker trips are required.
Total Truck Trips Required to Pave 401 from Cobourg to Grafton
Truck Trips per km (East and West bound directions): 164 truck/tanker trips per km
Distance from Cobourg to Grafton: 12.4 km
Number of Lanes: 2
Total Truck Trips Req’d for Minimum Road Spec: 164(Truck Trips per km) X 12.4(Distance from Cobourg to Grafton)=4,068 trips
Total Truck Trips Req’d for Maximum Road Spec: 326(Truck Trips per km) X 12.4(Distance from Cobourg to Grafton)=16,120 trips
SUMMARY OF RESULTS OF TOTAL TRUCK TRIPS REQUIRED TO PAVE 401 2 LANES EAST & WEST
A MINIMUM OF 11,940 TRUCK TRIPS of asphalt and raw materials (gravel, bitumen etc.) for 50mm pavement will travel Telephone Road in order to pave East and West bound lanes of 401 from Cobourg to Brighton; and
A MAXIMUM OF 47,320 TRUCK TRIPS of asphalt and raw materials (gravel, bitumen etc.) for 200mm pavement will travel Telephone Road in order to pave East and West bound lanes of 401 from Cobourg to Brighton.
