[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 92 (Friday, May 10, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21527-21528]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-11657]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Highway Administration
Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement: Lane County, Oregon
AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of intent to supplement a final environmental impact
statement.
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SUMMARY: The FHWA is issuing this notice to advise all concerned that a
supplement to the final environmental impact statement will be prepared
for the West 11th Street-Garfield Street, Florence-Eugene Highway
(known locally as the West Eugene Parkway) in Lane County, Oregon.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Elton Chang, Environmental Engineer, Federal Highway Administration,
530 Center Street N.E., Room 100, Salem, Oregon, 97301, Telephone:
(503) 399-5749, Fax (503) 399-5838.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FHWA, in cooperation with the Oregon
Department of Transportation and the City of Eugene Public Works
Department will prepare a supplement to the final environmental impact
statement (FEIS) on the proposal to construct an approximately 9.3
kilometers (5.8 miles) east-west thoroughfare as an extension of the
6th and 7th couplet on a new alignment in the City of Eugene. The
original FEIS (FHWA-OR-EIS-85-05-F) for this roadway was approved on
November 20, 1989 and the Record of Decision (ROD) signed on April 4,
1990. The final EIS followed a draft EIS dated October 3, 1985 and a
supplemental draft EIS dated June 5, 1986. All three environmental
documents were reviewed by the public and interested agencies. The new
roadway would start in the east at Garfield Street and the 6th and 7th
Streets couplet near Highway 99W and terminate in the west with a
connection to Route 126 approximately 1.1 kilometers (0.7 miles) west
of the Oak Hill railroad overpass in Lane County, Oregon. In general,
the new roadway would have four 3.6-meter (12-foot) wide travel lanes
and a parkway-type design that would include a 4.3-meter (14-foot) wide
landscaped median with 1.2-meter (4-foot) inside shoulders for both
roadways, and 2.4-meter (8-foot) wide shoulder/bike lanes on the
[[Page 21528]]
outside of the travel lanes. This roadway is an important linkage
between Highway 126 in the west and I-105/I-5 in east Eugene. The need
for an east-west limited access thoroughfare has been documented in
land use and transportation plans since 1959 to serve the existing and
projected traffic demand resulting from the growth projected in the
industrial development of west Eugene. In addition, the parkway would
serve the growth in residential development in the Bethel-Danebo
Neighborhood to the north of the proposed roadway. Since the approval
of the final EIS and the selection of Alternative 1 (Modified) for
design and the signing of the ROD in 1990, additional coordination and
consultation have been done with environmental agencies to avoid and
minimize project impacts to rare, threatened and endangered species and
their habitats found in the project area. As a result of this
consultation, a design modification has been proposed for the western
5.2 kilometers (3.25 miles) of the adopted project (slightly east of
Terry Street to Highway 126). The approved design for the West Eugene
Parkway (WEP) that was south of and parallel to the Southern Pacific
railroad line is proposed to be shifted north of and parallel to the
railroad. Initial analysis (October 1994) of the northern design option
has found that there would be less direct impacts on the Willamette
Valley wet prairie wetlands, a rare habitat type, and the direct
impacts to the Western pond turtles, a sensitive species, would be
eliminated.
In addition, recent traffic analysis from the City of Eugene has
shown that projected traffic for local streets, Highway 99W and the
eastern portion of the WEP can best be served by a minor design
modification in the intersection with Highway 99W and the approved
project. The northbound 99W connection to the westbound new WEP is now
proposed to be made by an elevated structure rather than at grade to
maintain an acceptable level-of-service. These two minor design
modifications are being proposed to the approved project to further
reduce the impacts found in the final EIS. The impacts of the
modifications will be examined in greater detail in the proposed
supplemental EIS.
Newsletters describing the proposed action and soliciting comments
will be sent to appropriate Federal, State and local agencies, and to
private organizations and citizens who have previously expressed or are
known to have an interest in this proposal. Two public meetings will be
held in Eugene during May/June, 1996 to identify issues that should be
addressed and an additional meeting will be held during the summer to
describe preliminary findings of the technical studies. In addition, a
public hearing will be held following the distribution of the draft
supplemental EIS for public and agency review. Public notice will be
given of the times and places of all meetings and hearings. No formal
scoping meeting will be held. 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 supplemental EIS should be directed to the FHWA at the
address provided above.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program Number 20.205,
Highway Research, Planning and Construction. The regulations
implementing Executive Order 12372 regarding intergovernmental
consultation on Federal Programs and activities apply to this
program.)
Issued on: May 1, 1996.
Elton Chang,
Environmental Engineer, Federal Highway Administration.
[FR Doc. 96-11657 Filed 5-9-96; 8:45 am]
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