Environmental Assessment
Volume B-5.5
Mine
Traffic
Ambatovy Project
396
January 2006
Mitigations for noise and vibration include:
•
scheduling project traffic for daylight hours where possible to minimize
sleep disturbance by increased noise events (this has been assumed in
the analysis);
•
scheduling large vehicle (trucks and buses) trips as convoys to reduce
the number of times per day a disturbance may occur, if this option is
preferred by noise receivers;
•
maintaining vehicles in good condition to ensure they are no louder than
other, similar vehicles on the roadways; and
•
ensuring vehicles travel at reduced speeds to minimize impact and
oscillation loads when homes are adjacent (within 200 m) to a roadway.
5.5.6
Conclusions
The project will result in traffic increases on the paved highways between
Antananarivo and Moramanga, Toamasina and Moramanga, Ampitambe and
Moramanga, and Ampitambe and the mine site. The greatest impacts of the
project in relation to traffic volumes will occur during the construction phase,
especially along RN44 between Ampitambe and Moramanga. Numbers of trucks
along the route will increase about 6% during construction and 2% during
operations. Numbers of personal vehicles will increase by about 3% during both
construction and operations. Numbers of buses will increase by an average of
4% during construction and operations. Changes such as these are likely to result
in proportional increases in accident rates, and will increase levels of noise,
engine emissions, dust and vibration along the roadway. However, the
implementation of safety measures (speed limits, drivers’ education, public
education, scheduling of vehicle passage, vehicle maintenance and case-specific
road improvements) will reduce these impacts.
The mine access road from Ampitambe is likely to receive a high percentage of
additional traffic, and some special mitigation such as home relocation may be
required at the time of road widening. This road is under study. Villages will be
avoided wherever possible.
Increased traffic levels may affect residences along the roadways, livestock and
human safety through a combination of impacts to traffic congestion, noise,
emissions, dust and vibration. In general, these effects are expected to be small,
but adding to traffic congestion in specific locations, like Moramanga and
Ampitambe, will result in an impact that is clearly observable to local residents.
