1.1.1
The
opening of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Corridor (HK-SWC) and Deep Bay Link (DBL)
in 2007 will undoubtedly increase the east-west traffic in Northwest
New Territories. It is anticipated that most of this
additional cross-boundary traffic will make use of Tuen Mun Road (TMR) to
access the urban areas.
1.1.2
TMR
is the major east-west transport corridor in the Northwest
New Territories. The section of Town Centre Section of
TMR (TCSTMR) (from Lam Tei to Sam Shing Hui) is currently operating close to
its capacity. This section is the
most critical section of TMR as the number of traffic lanes reduces from three
to two at a number of interchanges.
The traffic conditions of this road section will inevitably be worsened
by the additional traffic from HK-SWC.
Hence traffic improvement schemes will be necessary to relieve the
traffic congestion at this section of road.
1.1.3
In
this regard, Transport Department (TD) conducted a study to investigate
measures to ameliorate the traffic congestion for TCSTMR. The study report recommended, inter
alia, the following traffic improvement measures to alleviate the anticipated
traffic congestion of the TCSTMR after the commissioning of the HK-SWC and DBL:
Ÿ
Provision
of an additional interchange connecting Tuen Mun Road and Castle Peak Road near
Sam Shing Estate; and
Ÿ
Widening
of TMR at Tsing Tin Interchange from a dual two-lane to dual three-lane
arrangement.
1.1.4
Following
the recommendations of the TD’s Study, Highways Department (HyD) submitted the
project profile for the application of the EIA Study Brief in June 2005. Environmental Protection Department
(EPD) issued the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study brief
(ESB-127/2005) for “Provision of Additional Interchange
Connecting Tuen Mun Road and Castle Peak Road Near Sam Shing Estate and
Widening of Tuen Mun Road at Tsing Tin Interchange”on 22 July 2005.
1.1.5
In
January 2007, Maunsell Consultants Asia Limited (MCAL) was employed by the
Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, represented by the
Director of HyD to undertake the EIA for “Widening of Tuen Mun Road at Tsing
Tin Interchange”(hereafter called “Project”). The Project is to widen about 240m
long dual two-lane section of at-grade Tuen
Mun Road at Tsing Tin Interchange to a dual
three-lane carriageway. Associated
with the road widening works, environmental mitigation measures will also be
implemented during the construction and operation stages. The Project study area is shown Figure
1.1.
1.1.6
Under
this Agreement, MCAL will conduct an EIA Study only covering the widening of
Tuen Mun Road at Tsing Tin Interchange but
excluding the provision of interchange near Sam Shing Estate as stated in the
EIA study brief (ESB-127/2005).
The EIA study identified the potential environmental issues arising from
the Project such as air quality, noise, water, waste management, hazard to
life, landscape and visual and cultural heritage, and the likely mitigation
measures required.
1.2.1
The objectives of the EIA study are as follows:
(i)
to
describe the Project and associated works together with the requirements for
carrying out the Project;
(ii)
to
identify and describe elements of community and environment likely to be
affected by the Project and/or likely to cause adverse impacts to the Project,
including natural and man-made environmental and the associated environmental
constraints;
(iii)
to
provide information on the consideration of alternatives to avoid and minimize
potential environmental impacts to ecologically sensitive areas and other
sensitive uses; to compare the environmental benefits and dis-benefits of each
of different options; to provide reasons for selecting the preferred option(s)
and to describe the part environmental factors played in the selection of
preferred option(s);
(iv)
to
identify and quantify emission sources and determine the significance of
impacts on sensitive receivers and potential affected uses;
(v)
to
identify and quantify any potential landscape and visual impacts and to propose
measures to mitigate these impacts;
(vi)
to
identify and quantify any potential hazard to life impacts and to propose
measures to mitigate these impacts;
(vii)
to
identify and quantify any potential losses or damage to flora, fauna and
natural habitats and to propose measures to mitigate these impacts;
(viii)
to
identify any negative impacts on site of cultural heritage and to propose
measures to mitigate these impacts;
(ix)
to
propose the provision of mitigation measures so as to minimize pollution,
environmental disturbance and nuisance construction and operation of the
Project;
(x)
to
investigate the feasibility, practicability, effectiveness and implications of
the proposed mitigation measures;
(xi)
to
identify, predict and evaluate the residual environmental impacts (i.e. after
practicable mitigation) and the cumulative effects expected to arise during the
construction and operation phases of the Project in relation to the sensitive
receivers and potential affected uses;
(xii)
to
identify, assess and specify methods, measures and standards, to be included in
the detailed design, construction and operation of the Project which are
necessary to mitigate these environmental impacts and cumulative effects and
reduce them to acceptable levels;
(xiii)
to
investigate the extent of the secondary environmental impacts that may arise
from the proposed mitigation measures and to identify constraints associated
with the mitigation measures recommended in the EIA study, as well as the
provision of any necessary modification; and
(xiv)
to
design and specify environmental monitoring and audit requirements to ensure
the effective implementation of the recommended environmental protection and
pollution control measures.
1.3.1
The
widening of Tuen Mun Road
at Tsing Tin Interchange is classified as a Designated Project under Schedule
2, part 1, A.1 of the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance (EIAO). Environmental Permit is required for
the construction and operation of the Project.
1.3.2
The
Assessment Area for the EIA Study, as specified in the EIA Study Brief, is
presented below:
(i)
Air
quality impact assessment – area within a distance of 500m
from the boundary of the Project site;
(ii)
Noise
impact assessment – area within 300m
from the Project boundary. The
assessment area would be reduced accordingly if the first layer of noise
sensitive receivers provides acoustic shielding to those receivers located
further away;
(iii)
Water
quality impact assessment – cover an area within 500m
of the Project site boundary, and up to 500m
along the Tuen Mun River Channel from the boundary of the Project;
(iv)
Waste
management and land contamination assessment – cover the area within the
Project boundary;
(v)
Hazard
to life assessment – the study area is the consultation zone of Tuen Mun Water
Treatment Works;
(vi)
Ecological
impact assessment – the study area for terrestrial ecological assessment shall
include all areas within 500m
from the site boundary of the land based works area or the area likely to be
impacted by the Project. For the aquatic
ecology environment, the study area shall be the same as the water quality
impact assessment;
(vii)
Landscape
and visual impact assessment – the assessment area for landscape impact
assessment will include areas within a 100m
distance from the site boundary of the work areas while the assessment area for
the visual impact assessment will be defined by the visual envelope of the
Project; and
(viii)
Cultural
heritage impact assessment – cover the area within the Project boundary.
1.4.1
The background of the Project and objectives of
this Report are introduced in this Section 1. A description of the Project is provided in Section 2. Sections 3 to 11 detail the results of
the environmental impact assessment, covering relevant legislation, environmental
conditions, assessment criteria and methods, and assessment findings. Sections 2 to 11 include:
Ÿ
Section
2 – Project Description
Ÿ
Section
3 – Air Quality
Ÿ
Section
4 – Noise
Ÿ
Section
5 – Water Quality
Ÿ
Section
6 – Waste Management
Ÿ
Section
7 – Land Contamination
Ÿ
Section
8 –Hazard to Life
Ÿ
Section
9 –Ecology
Ÿ
Section
10 – Landscape and Visual
Ÿ
Section
11 – Cultural Heritage
1.4.2
Section
12 highlights the environmental monitoring audit (EM&A) requirements for
the Project. A conclusion of the
whole assessment is given in Section 13.
A detailed implementation schedule of the recommended mitigation
measures is provided in Section 14.