Epa Technical Project On Environment Planning Question & Answer Sample

Introduction:Epa Technical Project On Environment Planning

It is to be noted that there are different forms of environmental effects of construction projects are there. All of these have the potential to degrade the quality of the project. For this reason, all of these are needed to be taken into account. In this, project, all of these were taken to make the project successful.

Question 1

In this project, it is required to construct a bypass road that crosses a railway junction at one of these points. This is going to be a huge construction. In addition to this, there are residential areas present within 1 km. Also, a residential area is going to be constructed beside the railway station. This is going to increase the human involvement in that area in the future. Considering all of these there are some environmental challenges that the project might face. These challenges are as follows. 

Noise Pollution

At the time of construction, it is likely to generate loud noise from the different construction works. The construction works will cause more traffic congestion. Hence, the requirement for using loud traffic horns will be higher (Pushpamali et al. 2021). Thus more noise pollution will be there. Other than this, the sound of the equipment and other construction works will also generate sound that will cause noise pollution. 

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Air Pollution

Construction activities are likely to increase the air pollution in the site area. Also, because of the bypass work, congestion will be there on the main road. Hence, the traffic has to stop at places for a longer period. As a result of this, air pollutants will accumulate in one place. Hence, more air pollution will be there. Also, the dust particles generated from the construction work will also result in air pollution.

Water Pollution

This is another concern that needs to be taken into account. There is a huge amount of earthwork is going to be done in this project. This will ultimately result in disturbing soil strata and causing sedimentation. This will have ill effects on the nearby water bodies. Also, the waste generated from the construction will pollute the water bodies. 

Habitat Impact

Like other projects, this project is also going to have some ill effects on the habitat of the area. The selected route is to be cleaned by removing the vegetation and it also needs to be altered to make it suitable for the construction work. In this way, the habitat & biodiversity of the area will be impacted. 

Visual Discomfort

It is one of the aesthetic considerations that needs to be considered here. This is going to be a big challenge to do the construction work without impacting the scenic beauty of the place. The construction activity is likely to hamper the visual beauty of the place.

Disruption of road & railway traffic

The traffic on the existing road and the traffic on the railway is going to be impacted because of this project. The existing road needs to be closed for many hours of the day and partially open during the other hours for construction activities (Mohamed et al. 2021). Moreover, the railway traffic also needed to be stopped for certain hours of the day. 

Effect on communities

The local community is also going to be impacted because of the construction work. It is known that existing residential areas are present there and new residential areas are also going to be established near the railway railway station. This will impact the daily life of the community. 

Migration challenges

The construction work is likely to develop the condition of the area. This will be able to attract more people to come and settle down in this area. Hence, the issue of migration may be observed in this area. 

Question 2

There are many ill effects of the project is going to be on the site area. For this reason, it is required to make this project sustainable. To do this, there are certain factors that need to be considered. These are the ones that will result in reducing the impacts on the environment, are beneficial for the local community, and will have good viability (Khanani et al. 2021). These factors are described below. 

Ecosystem Disruption

During the construction work, it should be ensured that very little disruption caused the the ecosystem. This can be identified by doing “environmental assessments”. In this way, species that can be impacted will be identified. Moreover, the places where there is natural habitat is present will be avoided to take the route through it (Joensuu et al. 2020). In addition to this, materials that are more suited to the environment should be used for the construction. 

Concerns of the local residents

It is obvious that for this construction work, there will be much discomfort to the daily life of the local residents. For this reason, it is needed that the most probable effects of the project on the local people should be identified. This can be done by communicating with these people to know their concerns. The feedback given by the people will disclose what measures to be taken to reduce the discomfort of the people. Some of the measures that can be taken in this regard are reduction of the pollution levels, making alternative means of temporary access at the time of construction. 

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Sustainable Construction

Another factor that can be considered here is the sustainable construction. It can be seen that in these days, sustainable construction is a high priority. So, in this project also, this form of construction will be implemented. In order to achieve this, energy sources, and materials that left less “carbon footprint” will be used (Cuiyun & Chazhong, 2020). The other techniques of this are the use of “recycled materials”, “energy efficiency”, and waste minimization through the use of sustainable materials. 

Safety & Accessibility

The safety of people along with accessibility during the project will be another chief concern. Moreover, the road after completion should also meet the safety requirements. During the construction time, temporary access will be built to divert the traffic congestion. Moreover, in the bypass, proper road kerbs, and sidewalks, will be provided in order to maintain the “safety & accessibility” of the bypass. 

Resilience practices

This is referred to the consideration of the unforeseen future factors that can impact the project. Some of these factors are adverse changes in the climate, a disastrous phenomena like flood can take place in the future. To tackle the data of the bad conditions of weather in the past will be taken and designs on the basis of this will be made (Zhang et al. 2020). This will be helpful in preparing a good plan for the project. 

Economic feasibility

The economy is the most important factor for a project. It can be seen that, on the basis of the price available, the decisions of the project are made. Depending on the price available all the decisions of the project will be made. 

Question 3

The project seems to have included many factors that need to be considered for maintaining “health & safety” in the project. It can be seen that, because of that construction there are different forms of risks that are going to be created here (Shojaei & Bolvardizadeh, 2020). For this reason, it is necessary that proper measures are taken to ensure good “health & safety” of people. The factors related to this that are to be considered here for this project are as follows.

Managing Traffic

Because of the construction, it is likely to create traffic congestion at the junction of the bypass and the main road. In this time it is needed to divert the traffic through alternate temporary routes. These temporary routes are to be constructed connecting the sections of the main road starting from the section before the bypass and connected to the other section of the main road after the bypass. As the bypass is going to be made on the right bank of the main road, so, this temporary diversion road is to be made on the left bank of the main road. In addition to this, the road is going to cross a railway section (Archer, 2020). From the background of the area, it seems that the traffic of the railway cannot be stopped for a long time for the road work. In this case, most of the work, for the road is going to be carried in hours when the railway traffic is stopped. The time when this traffic is stopped is 22:00 to 6:00 on the weekdays. 

Level of noise pollution

In this project, because of construction works it is like sound pollution will occur. Moreover, traffic congestion will also result in making noise pollution. There are some solutions that can be incorporated in this regard. The first thing that can be done is to use sound barriers. Moreover, “acoustic panels” can also be used here. Also, the construction works should be scheduled at such a time when there is less traffic so that people do not get affected because of loud noise. 

Controlling air quality

Because of construction works, it is likely that many dust particles will be generated. Also, because of the emission from the fuel burning air pollution will be induced. These are to be tackled wisely. This can be done by promoting “hybrid vehicles” that generate less emissions. This should be done by the “McWhinnie Highland Council” (Pushpamali et al. 2021). Also, to reduce dust particle emissions, factory-made components can be used. 

Safety of pedestrian traffic

This is another important thing to consider. The safety of the pedestrians is to be maintained during the construction and also after the construction. At the time of construction, proper guiding routes of temporary nature should be provided (Cao et al. 2021). Also, after the construction, the bypass should have a proper traffic signaling system and crossing. 

Question 4

In this project, it is required to prepare a bypass route for an existing road. This is to be done in order to reduce the traffic congestion just before and after the railway crossing. Because of less space availability, the road is to be made a single-lane road with two-way traffic. At the junction of the bypass and railway station, there should be a grade separation. It is decided that the road is to be constructed on the embankment and will be taken over the railway station. For creating an embankment the soil is needed to be brought from outside (Succar & Poirier, 2020). So, the volume of soil required for making this embankment needs to be determined first. The calculation of this embankment is as follows. 

Calculation

The length of the road is 1.6 km.

The span of the bridge over the railway station is 50m.

The clearance of the bridge over the railway station is 50m.

The gradient used for obtaining this required elevation is 30%.

For this on both sides of the bridge inclined embankment is to be provided for,

50/tan 300 = 87.72 m.

Hence, providing 100m on both sides.

The earthwork required for the straight portion of the road on both sides of the railway station is,

Straight portion earthwork = 2 x [½ x 3 x 1.5 + ½ x 2 x 0.04 + ½ x 3.5 x 0.105] x (1600 - 50 - 200)

= 2 x [2.25 + 0.04 + 0.18] x (1600 - 50 - 200)

= 2 x 2.47 x 1350 = 669 m3

The total embankment width in the inclined portion is 17m

Earthwork for the inclined portion = 2 x [(½ x 100 x 50) x 17] = 85000 m3

Total earthwork for the entire road is = 669 + 85000 = 85669 m3

Question 5

Accessing & handling data by BIM

One of the best tools to manage data is BIM. This is a platform that helps in gathering & regulating data. With this data, decisions can be made for projects. In this, project data can be collected & handled throughout the life-cycle of the project (Kumar et al. 2021). The possible processes of this are as follows.

Planning Phase

In this phase, the 3D models can be used for making plans. This can bring together the project elements such as the railway station, the presence of a residential area, and also the future development of the new residential areas around the rail station. A good 3D model can be helpful in having a better end view of the project.

Construction Phase

In this phase, the main role that is played by BIM is to work as a central platform that connects and maintains the collaboration of the stakeholders of the project. In addition to this, the progress of work can be tracked in real-time (Badach et al. 2020). A proper sequence of project activities is also the result of this. 

Data Management

There are a lot of data is going to be there in this project. For this reason, it is required that these data are maintained properly. BIM helps a project to maintain, documentation & “regulatory requirements”. As a result of this, the data of the project is available to all the project teams and errors are minimized. 

Data Integration

This means the collection of data regarding the several factors of the site that are necessary for project planning. This can be done with the use of BIM. This consists of data from surveys, “geospatial data”, “climate data”, and “geotechnical data” (Yang et al. 2020). All of this data helps in making decisions for the project. 

Post-construction Phase

The main thing that BIM does in this phase is to the management work. This is done by providing details of work completed, materials used, and equipment used. The frequency of renovations is also predicted by BIM. 

Challenges of BIM Implementation

There are some challenges that can be encountered at the time of implementing BIM in this project. These are as follows.

Integration of data

There will be many sources of data for this project, such as data through surveys, tests, public feedback, past climate, and others. All of these different forms of data are to be integrated through BIM (Huang et al. 2022). This will be a challenge. 

Collaboration of the stakeholders

There are different people such as engineers, contractors, architects, the local community, and others who will be present in this project. Maintaining proper communication among them with BIM will be difficult. 

Technological Compatibility

BIM technology is a relatively new technology and continuously evolving. So, not all the people are familiar with this technology. So, a lack of knowledge of BIM can also be a challenge.

Skill Development

As previously observed, having less knowledge of BIM can be challenging for using it in the project. Hence, if there is a smaller number of people in the project who can actually able to use the BIM technology well then it can be a serious problem. 

Legal Compliance

There are different regulations given by the different government authorities. This can be maintained through manual work. However, integration of the regulations with BIM becomes very hard. 

Conclusion

From the above discussion, it can be observed that there are different factors that can be responsible for the success of a project. In this project, the different environmental challenges were found. Moreover, the factors to be considered for this project was also discussed here. The description of the “health & safety” is described here. Also, the details of the embankment soil requirement are also present here. Several aspects of BIM implementation are also present here. 

References

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