3-AD006.00 SOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT WAIHI NORTH PROJECT Oceana Gold New Zealand Limited WSP June 2022 34 6.1.2 REDUCED SAFETY OF STOCK MOVEMENT The WNP will result in increased traffic movements on Willows Road, the main vehicular access to the proposed Willows Road SFA. The current average daily traffic volume for Willows Road is 81 vehicles per day (veh/day) over the first 300 m (up to the Highland Road intersection), of which heavy commercial vehicles comprise 6%, reducing beyond Highland Road to 48 veh/day of which 10% are heavy commercial vehicles. During engagement with Willows Road residents, the affected landowners raised concern that the increase in traffic volume and heavy vehicle movements would pose a risk to stock movement. According to OGNZL, a dairy operation, consisting of approximately 150 head, moves livestock across Willows Road on a regular basis for milking. Crossings take place twice a day during milking season (1 August to 30 April) between 6 – 8am and 5 – 7 pm. Outside of milking season, crossing is sporadic and dependent on the grazing location of the herd. Another property owner transfers a small number of cattle over the road less frequently, approximately once a month. The increase in traffic volumes and heavy vehicle movements on Willows Road has implications on the safe movement of livestock on Willows Road. Impact Description: The construction of the surface infrastructure, tunnel portal and tunnel development will result in the movement of construction vehicles, materials, and workforce on Willows. The Transportation Assessment (Stantec, 2022) has determined that daily traffic movements on Willows Road are anticipated to peak at around 332 veh/day (in 2024) when tunnelling commences during construction. The majority of the heavy vehicles are expected over the first year of the project. Heavy vehicle movements will peak at approximately 200 daily movements in 2024. During the operational phase of the WUG (2028 to 2036) the traffic movements will be largely associated with exploration, mining and rock stack operation, rehabilitation and closure. Traffic movements on Willows Road are anticipated to be less during the operational phase, compared with the construction phase, as a result of bulk materials transfer via underground tunnels. Traffic movements on Willows Road have been forecasted to peak when mining commences at approximately 334 veh/d for a 9-month period in 2027/2028. Heavy vehicle movements are expected to total less than 50 veh/d (i.e. approximately 7 veh/h). The peak hourly movements occur in 2028 when the workforce is near its peak. The Transportation Assessment states that the peak hourly movements in 2028 on Willows Road will be 72 veh/h at the 7am peak and 42 veh/h for the road network peak (4pm to 6pm) with the large majority of these movements expected to be light vehicles associated with workforce movements. Heavy vehicle movements are expected to be few and spread over the day (between 9am and 4 pm). These traffic movements will be in contrast to the current low volume (81 veh/d) and largely residential road usage associated with Willows Road, in particular the section of the road beyond the first 300 m.
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