[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 172 (Friday, September 4, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47340-47341]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-23853]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Highway Administration
Environmental Impact Statement: Williamson and Travis Counties,
Texas
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 will be prepared for a proposed new
location highway/tollway project in Williamson and Travis Counties,
Texas.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Walter C. Waidelich, District Engineer Federal Highway Administration,
Room 850, Federal Building, 300 East 8th Street, Austin, Texas 78701.
David Kopp, P.E. Texas Turnpike Authority Division, Texas Department of
Transportation, 125 E. 11th Street, Austin, Texas 78701-2483.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: State Highway 130, as currently envisioned,
is a proposed controlled access highway which will extend from IH 35 at
State Highway 195 north of Georgetown in Williamson County, Texas, to
IH 10 near Sequin in Guadalupe County, Texas. State Highway 130 will be
located generally parallel to and east of Interstate Highway 35 and the
urban areas of Austin, San Marcos, and New Braunfels. The total length
of the proposed facility is 143.5 kilometers (89 miles). The proposed
State Highway 130 facility is being developed by the FHWA in
cooperation with the Texas Turnpike Authority Division (TTA) of the
Texas
[[Page 47341]]
Department of Transportation (TxDOT). It is being developed in three
segments with each segment having logical termini and independent
utility. FHWA and TTA will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement
for each of the three independent segments.
This Notice of Intent (NOI) focuses on the northern segment,
Segment A, of State Highway 130 and supersedes an NOI issued by the
FHWA on January 5, 1995. As announced herein, the FHWA in cooperation
with TTA will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement on a proposal
to construct the Segment A of State Highway 130. Segment A of proposed
State Highway 130 extends from the junction of Interstate 35 and State
Highway 195 north of Georgetown in Williamson County, Texas, to U.S.
Highway 290 east of Austin in Travis County, Texas. The length of
Segment A varies depending on the selected alternative, from
approximately 41.5 kilometers (25.7 miles) to 46.6 kilometers (28.9
miles). The proposed action is intended to relieve congestion on
Interstate 35 by providing an alternative route for those who commute
between Austin and surrounding areas as well as drivers desiring to
bypass the central business areas of Austin, Round Rock and Georgetown.
The proposed action will also provide improved access and increased
mobility to urbanized areas in the proposed corridor, help support
planned business and residential growth in various areas throughout the
project corridor, and provide needed freeway access from surrounding
areas to the proposed Austin Bergstrom International Airport.
A Major Investment Study, addressing the entire length of the
proposed State Highway 130, was adopted in July 1997 by the Austin
Transportation Study Policy Advisory Committee, the metropolitan
planning organization for the Austin, Texas area.
As currently envisioned the proposed Segment A facility will be a
controlled access toll road; thus, in conjunction with the EIS and
selection of a preferred alternative, the TTA will conduct a toll
feasibility study to evaluate the viability of developing the selected
alternative as a toll road and financing it, in whole or part, through
the issuance of revenue bonds. The toll road designation will not
influence the selection of a preferred alternative. Proposed
alternatives, including alternative alignments, will be evaluated for
how well they meet the stated purpose and need for the proposed
project. Any impacts owing to the toll road designation will be
discussed in the environmental impact statement.
The draft EIS for Segment A will address a build alternative
including multiple alternative alignments. Alternatives to the proposed
action, which will also be discussed in the EIS, will include (1)
taking no action, or the ``no build'' alternative, and (2) improving
existing roadways in the project area. The build alternatives include
multiple alternative alignments along new location rights-of-way
connecting Interstate 35 to U.S. Highway 290.
Impacts caused by the construction and operation of Segment A of
State Highway 130 will vary according to the alternative alignment
utilized. Generally, impacts would include the following:
transportation impacts (construction detours, construction traffic, and
mobility improvement); air and noise impacts from construction and
operation of the roadway; water quality impacts from construction areas
and roadway stormwater runoff; impacts to waters of the United States
including wetlands from right-of-way encroachment; and impacts to
residents and businesses.
Letters describing the proposed action and soliciting comments have
been sent to appropriate Federal, State, and local agencies, and to
private organizations and citizens who have previously expressed
interest in the proposal. Public meetings for the Segment A project
were held on October 25, 1994, at Everett Williams Elementary School in
Georgetown, Texas; on October 27, 1994, at Manor High School in Manor
Texas; on April 9, 1996, at Bluebonnet Trail Elementary School in
Austin, Texas; on July 15, 1997, at Park Crest Middle School in
Pflugerville, Texas; and on July 17, 1997, and February 3, 1998, at
Hopewell Middle School in Round Rock, Texas. At these meetings, public
comments on the proposed action and alternatives were requested. In
addition, a public hearing will be held after publication of the Draft
EIS. Public notice will be given of the time and place of the hearing.
The Draft EIS will be available for public and agency review and
comment prior to the public hearing.
To ensure that the full range of issues related to proposed Segment
A of State Highway 130 are addressed and all significant issues
identified, comments and suggestions are invited from all parties.
Comments or questions concerning this proposed action and the EIS
should be directed to the FHWA or TTA 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.)
Walter C. Waidelich,
District Engineer.
[FR Doc. 98-23853 Filed 9-3-98; 8:45 am]
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