Under Appendix 1, Schedule 3, 4 (d) of the Coordinator-General’s conditions (July 2008) the project was required to identify properties which would be adversely affected by construction activities.

In addition Condition 4 (d) (i) specifies:

Mitigation measures must be designed in response to the predicted impacts, with detailed design measures to address localised impacts where necessary.

The Coordinator-General’s conditions also require the project to consult with affected property owners well in advance of the commencement of works and monitor the effectiveness of mitigation measures that are implemented.

Examples of mitigation measures that were implemented by the project to manage construction impacts on the community included (but not limited to):

• limiting night work to less noisy activities;
• noise walls around work sites;
• placement of machinery to minimise noise;
• trial use of lower pitch reverse alarms on site construction vehicles;
• ensuring lighting is angled to minimise glare into neighbouring houses; and
• ongoing environmental monitoring.

The project had a protocol for determining if and how mitigation was implemented for residents with concerns about project construction impacts.

As part of the process, the project usually reviewed any modelling, monitor and measure the impacts, assess the results and then determine any required mitigation measures in line with the Coordinator-General’s conditions. TJH advised that all community members who contact them with concerns about the project, regardless of where they are from, were treated fairly and, when applicable, through this formal process.

The project also ensured that every household that approaches them seeking mitigation had their request considered on a case by case basis.   This allowed residents’ special requirements to be fully considered where it is identified mitigation is applicable (eg. someone who works shifts receives the assistance necessary to meet their circumstances).

As well as residents’ special requirements, other issues were considered in the assessment of mitigation such as the materials a home is built of, the angle of its exposure to the closest worksite and the type of construction being carried out in the area.

More than 500 individual mitigation treatments were provided by the project to over 300 properties the corridor. In addition the State Government purchased, or offered to purchase, a further 12 homes where residents were finding living through construction difficult.

Individual mitigation may have included: 

• temporary (1-3 nights), short term (1+ weeks) and long term (6+ months) relocation,
• noise treatments such as double glazing, insulation or air-conditioning and
• internal and external house cleaning.