INVESTIGATIONS into an orbital road link remain at the high-level planning stage.
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Investigations are continuing after a council report identified a desired connection between Ocean Drive through to the Oxley Highway and beyond to the airport and Hastings River Drive.
Port Macquarie-Hastings Council director Jeffery Sharp said any orbital road would be a long-term strategic project and not something, in his experience, that would come to fruition in a short period of time.
“These days just to get the studies completed we are looking at multi-year study development if it is seen to be feasible,” he said.
Mr Sharp said the orbital road was being looked at in terms of the feasibility, engineering feasibility and options around what an orbital link may look like.
“Our consultants are continuing to work with council staff on the development of an engineering feasibility study on the orbital [road] and options that may be available to create those links,” Mr Sharp said.
“We are working through the engineering constraints, if you like, of plotting a route but finding out what the constraints are around different options of an orbital [road] within the area we have got.”
The Port Macquarie orbital road corridor engineering feasibility investigation looks at the physical and environmental constraints.
It will provide direction on appropriate corridors, potential road alignments and the process which the council will need to follow if it decides to advance with the project.
“There is a lot more work to go between just an engineering feasibility and even a reasonable concept design for any of these roads and we are certainly not at that point,” Mr Sharp said.
Options will feed into an area-wide traffic study.
The area-wide traffic study is nearing first draft completion.
The traffic study across the area will allow the council to analyse traffic movements and model scenarios to determine what road upgrades and potential new roads may be required.
This will include the ability to model the road alignments identified by the orbital feasibility study to determine their impacts on the network.
Mr Sharp said the area-wide traffic study would highlight the existing road network and capacity issues with roads and intersections.
Port Macquarie Chamber of Commerce president Hadyn Oriti said the congestion would only get worse as the area grew.
“What we really need is an orbital road that takes the pressure off to the south of the industrial area and also links to the airport,” he said.
“We need flood-free access to the airport which this road would provide.”
An orbital road would have an economic payback due to efficiency in moving people and goods throughout the area, he said.
“It is economically important as well as relieving stress that comes from sitting in traffic,” Mr Oriti said.
He said commitment to the project was needed from all levels of government.
An infrastructure gap analysis in 2014 identified five critical projects to assist in ensuring long-term economic growth opportunities.
They included a road to link Ocean Drive to John Oxley Drive and a southern access road to the airport.