[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 107 (Monday, June 5, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Page 29721]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-13569]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Highway Administration
Environmental Impact Statement: Strafford County, New Hampshire
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 an
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will be prepared for a proposed
highway project in the Cities of Dover, Rochester, and Somersworth, in
Strafford County, New Hampshire.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. William F. O'Donnell, P.E.,
Environmental Program Manager, Federal Highway Administration, 279
Pleasant Street, Suite 204, Concord, New Hampshire 03301, Telephone:
(603) 225-1608 or Mr. Dennis J. Danna, Chief, Technical Services
Section, Bureau of Environment, New Hampshire Department of
Transportation, P.O. Box 483, John O. Morton Building, Concord, New
Hampshire 03302-0483, Telephone: (603) 271-3226.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FHWA, in cooperation with the New
Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT), will prepare an EIS for
a proposed highway project to improve access to and from the Spaulding
Turnpike (NH Route 16) to the tri-city areas of Dover, Somersworth and
Rochester. The project shall study possible locations for a new
interchange (Exit 10) and the necessary road networks to connect the
new interchange to the highway system east and/or west of the turnpike.
Consideration of upgrading existing roadways within the study area, as
alternative means of meeting the area's transportation requirements,
will also be addressed. Other potential alternative solutions to be
studied include: taking no action, applying transportation systems
management (TSM) improvements to selected locations on existing roads,
transportation demand management, including mass transit, and
combinations of these alternatives. Various designs of grade,
alignment, geometry and access will be evaluated.
An Advisory Task Force consisting of the Seacoast Metropolitan
Planning Organization, public transit operators, Federal Transit
Administration, local officials, NHDOT and FHWA will be established to
explore and evaluate transportation alternatives and to evaluate
project input as this study progresses.
Letters describing the proposed action and soliciting scoping
comments will be sent to appropriate Federal, State and local agencies,
and to private organizations and citizens who have an interest in this
proposal. They will also be invited to a formal scoping meeting. Public
information, community and Advisory Task Force meetings will be held in
the study area as the project progresses to consider public input in
the planning process. A public hearing will be held following
distribution of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). Public
notice will be given regarding the time and location of this hearing.
The DEIS will be available for review and comment by the public and
interested agencies.
The formal scoping meeting will be held at MHDOT offices in
Concord, New Hampshire on June 29, 1995 at 9:30 a.m. to: (1) confirm
the limits of the project study area, (2) help to establish the study
framework and the impacts to be analyzed, and (3) help to define a
reasonable range of alternatives to be considered. Study area resources
to be analyzed include the natural environment (such as farmland,
wetlands, floodplains, and water resources), the social environment
(such as land use, economic development and community facilities), the
cultural environment (historic and archeological resources) and the
transportation network. Agencies to be invited to be cooperating
agencies are the U.S. Environment Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE), the New Hampshire State Historic
Preservation Office (SHPO) and the New Hampshire Wetlands Board (NHWB).
Comments and suggestions are invited from all interested parties to
ensure that the full range of issues related to this proposed action is
addressed and all significant issues are identified. Comments or
questions concerning this proposed action should be directed to the
FHWA or the NHDOT at the addresses provided above.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 20.205, Highway
Planning and Construction. The regulations implementing Executive
Order 12372 regarding intergovernmental consultation on Federal
programs and activities apply to this program).
Issued on May 24, 1995.
Kathleen O. Laffey,
Division Administration, Concord, New Hampshire.
[FR Doc. 95-13569 Filed 6-2-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-22-M
