[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 230 (Tuesday, December 1, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Page 66225]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-31872]
[[Page 66225]]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Highway Administration
Environmental Impact Statement: Caldwell and Guadalupe 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 Caldwell and Guadalupe 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 or Georgetown in Williamson County, Texas, to
IH 10 near Seguin 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 Department of Transportation (TxDOT). It is being developed in
three projects with each project having logical termini and independent
utility. FHWA and TTA will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement
for each of the three independent projects.
This Notice of Intent (NOI) focuses on the southern project,
Segment C, of State Highway 130. As announced herein, the FHWA in
cooperation with TTA will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement on
a proposal to construct Segment C of State Highway 130. Segment C of
proposed State Highway 130 extends from the junctions of US Highway 183
and Farm-to-Market Road 1185 north of Lockhart in Caldwell County,
Texas, to Interstate Highway 10 near Seguin in Guadalupe County, Texas.
The length of Segment C varies depending on the alternative selected.
The proposed action is intended to relieve congestion on Interstate 35
by providing an alternative route for those who commute between the
metropolitan areas of Austin or San Antonio and surrounding areas as
well as drivers desiring to bypass Austin and other central Texas
cities located along the heavily traveled Interstate 35 corridor. 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 endorsed in July 1997 by the Austin
Transportation Study Policy Advisory Committee, the metropolitan
planning organization for the Austin, Texas area.
The proposed Segment C facility is being developed as a candidate
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 ability 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 C 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 and existing highway
rights-of-way within the Segment C project limits.
Impacts caused by the construction and operation of Segment C 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
activities and roadway storm water runoff; impacts to waters of the
United States including wetlands from right-of-way encroachment; and
impacts to residences 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 C project
were held in June and September 1997 in Seguin, Texas and in June and
September 1997 in Lockhart, Texas. At these meetings, public comments
on the proposed action and alternatives were requested.
In continuation of the scoping process for Segment C of State
Highway 130, an additional set of public meetings has been scheduled.
These meetings will be held on Wednesday, December 2, 1998, at the
Sequin Coliseum, 810 South Guadalupe Street, Sequin, Texas, and on
Tuesday, December 8, 1998, in the cafeteria of Plum Creek Elementary
School, 710 Flores Street, Lockhart, Texas. Two meeting are planned for
the convenience of those wishing to attend. TTA, and its consultants,
will present the same information at each meeting. From 6:00 to 7:00
pm, displays showing the preliminary alternative corridors will be
available for review. During this period, TTA staff will be available
to answer questions. Beginning at 7:00 pm, a formal presentation of the
project will be made and will be followed by a public comment period.
All interested persons are encouraged to attend one or both of these
public meetings.
A public hearing will be held for the Segment C project subsequent
to 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
C 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 addresses 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: November 18, 1998.
Walter C. Waidelich,
District Engineer, Austin, Texas.
[FR Doc. 98-31872 Filed 11-30-98; 8:45 am]
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