98-30348. Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement; Little River, Miller, and Sevier Counties, Arkansas, and Bowie County, TX

[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 219 (Friday, November 13, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63522-63523]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-30348]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration


Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement; Little River, 
Miller, and Sevier Counties, Arkansas, and Bowie County, TX

AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The FHWA is issuing this notice to advise the public that a 
Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) will be 
prepared for a proposed highway project in Little River, Miller, and 
Sevier Counties, Arkansas, and Bowie County, Texas.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Elizabeth A. Romero, Environmental Specialist, Federal Highway 
Administration, Arkansas Division, 700 West Capitol Avenue, Room 3130, 
Little Rock, Arkansas, 72201-3298, Telephone: [phone]; or Walter 
Waidelich, District Engineer, Federal Highway Administration, Texas 
Division, Suite 826, Federal Office Building, 300 East Eighth Street, 
Austin, Texas 78701, Telephone [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FHWA, in cooperation with the Arkansas 
State Highway and Transportation Department, and the Texas Department 
of Transportation, will prepare a Supplemental Draft Environmental 
Impact Statement (SDEIS) on a proposal to construct a four-lane, 
divided, fully controlled access facility located on new alignment. The 
proposed Supplemental Draft EIS is a follow up to a Draft EIS dated 
February, 1997.
    The overall project will serve southwest Arkansas and northeast 
Texas, including Little River, Miller, and Sevier Counties, Arkansas, 
and Bowie County, Texas. The Supplemental Draft EIS will address new 
alternatives in the vicinity of Texarkana, AR, Texarkana, TX, and 
Ashdown, AR which were identified through the public involvement 
activities related to the circulation of the Draft EIS in 1997. The new 
alternatives introduce the concept of a northern loop facility for 
Texarkana connecting with Interstate Highway (IH) IH-30 (W) and

[[Page 63523]]

US59(S) on the west side of Texarkana and connecting with IH-30(E) and 
US71(S) on the east side of Texarkana. This facility has the potential 
to divert through US71 traffic around the two cities, and reduce 
traffic volumes along the stretch of IH-30 between the northern loop 
termini and other routes through Texarkana. The northern loop 
alternatives add approximately 18 miles (29 kilometers) of new 
alignment to the project. Revisions to previously studied alternatives 
will add approximately 5 miles (8 km) of additional new alignment to 
the project.
    The east-west connector portion of the proposed northern loop, 
along with a new northern extension from the loop crossing the Red 
River, result in environmental consequences that were not thoroughly 
documented as a part of the 1997 DEIS. The Northern Loop alternatives 
will include major environmental issues at different locations than 
those studied in the Draft EIS such as floodplain encroachments, a 
crossing of the Red River, wetlands, and archaeological sites on the 
Red River floodplain. In addition to documenting the engineering and 
environmental aspects of the new northern loop alignments, the SDEIS 
will provide a comparative analysis of the project's alternatives with 
the goal being the identification of a preferred alternative for the 
entire project, from Texarkana to DeQueen, AR.
    Letters describing the proposed action and soliciting comments will 
be sent to appropriate federal, state, and local agencies and to 
private organizations who have expressed interest in the project in the 
past, and to major Arkansas and northeast Texas newspapers. Formal 
public hearings will be held in Arkansas and Texas during the 
circulation of the SDEIS. Public notice will be given of the time and 
place of the public involvement sessions and the public hearings. The 
SDEIS will be available for public and agency review and comment prior 
to the public hearings. The US Army Corps of Engineers, the US 
Environmental Protection Agency, and the US Department of Interior are 
Cooperating Agencies for the EIS. A formal scoping meeting for the 
Northern Loop Alternatives will be held and opportunity for public 
comment will be provided.
    To ensure that the full range of issues related to this proposed 
action are addressed and all significant issues identified, comments 
and suggestions are invited from all interested parties. Comments or 
questions concerning this proposed action and the EIS should be 
directed to either the FHWA Arkansas or Texas Division at the addresses 
provided above.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program Number 20.205, 
Highway Planning and Construction. The regulations implementing 
Executive Order 12372 regarding intergovernmental consultation of 
Federal programs and activities apply to this program.)
Elizabeth A. Romero,
Environmental Specialist, Federal Highway Administration, Little Rock, 
Arkansas.

Walter C. Waidelich,
District Engineer, Federal Highway Administration, Austin, Texas.
[FR Doc. 98-30348 Filed 11-12-98; 8:45 am]
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