[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 10 (Friday, January 14, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-983]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: January 14, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
 

Environmental Impact Statement; Miller County, AR

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 highway 
project in Miller County, Arkansas.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Wendall L. Meyer, Environmental and Design Specialist, Federal Highway 
Administration, 3128 Federal Office Building, Little Rock, Arkansas 
72201-3298, telephone: (501) 324-6430; or Reid Beckel, Consultant 
Coordinator, Chief Engineer, Arkansas State Highway and Transportation 
Department, P.O. Box 2261, Little Rock, Arkansas 72203, Telephone: 
(501) 569-2163.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FHWA, in cooperation with the Arkansas 
State Highway and Transportation Department and Louisiana Department of 
Transportation, will prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) on 
a proposal to construct a four-lane, divided, fully controlled access 
highway facility located on new alignment. The proposed project along 
U.S. 71, from Texarkana, Arkansas-Texas south to the Louisiana State 
Line, includes several alternatives based on new location corridors and 
varying termini. The approximate length of the project is 53.1 
kilometers (33.0 miles).

    The proposed improvements would improve the capacity of the 
existing route and increase regional mobility along a proposed ultimate 
route extending from Kansas City, Missouri to Shreveport, Louisiana. 
This project is one of several projects identified as ``high priority 
corridors'' on the National Highway System that would provide a 
transportation corridor of national significance from Kansas City to 
Shreveport. The proposed improvements will draw new traffic through 
southwest Arkansas, northwest Louisiana, and northeast Texas and serve 
as both a short-term and long-term economic stimulus, promoting 
development in this currently rural area. Major metropolitan areas 
lying along this ``high priority corridor'' include Kansas City, 
Kansas-Missouri; Joplin, Missouri; Fayetteville, Arkansas, Fort Smith, 
Arkansas; Texarkana, Arkansas-Texas; and Shreveport, Louisiana.
    The northern terminus of the proposed improvements will connect to 
the proposed Loop 151/245 in Texarkana, Arkansas-Texas. Loop 151/245 is 
currently being designed and/or constructed around the south side of 
Texarkana, Arkansas-Texas. The southern terminus will be at the 
Louisiana state line, and its location determined based on existing and 
new location U.S. 71 corridors.
    Alternatives to be considered are:
    (1) The ``Do-Nothing'' Alternative, where roads are constructed 
according to the regional plan with the exception of the proposed 
facility;
    (2) The ``Reconstruction'' Alternative, where existing U.S. 71 and 
roads on the regional plan are upgraded to handle traffic forecast for 
the proposed facility, but with less than full control of access; and
    (3) The ``New Location'' Alternative, considering several different 
alignments and full control of access.
    Letters describing the proposed action and soliciting comments will 
be sent to appropriate Federal, state, and local agencies and to 
private organizations, including conservation groups and groups of 
individuals who have expressed interest in the project in the past, and 
to major Arkansas, Louisiana and northeast Texas newspapers. A series 
of public involvement sessions will be held in the areas to be 
affected. In addition, a formal public hearing will be held. Public 
notice will be given of the time and place of the public involvement 
sessions and the public hearing. The draft Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) will be available for public and agency review and 
comment prior to the public hearing. An agency scoping meeting was held 
on December 7, 1993 at the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation 
Department offices in Little Rock, Arkansas.
    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 the FHWA at the address 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.)

    Issued on: January 3, 1994.
Wendall L. Meyer,
Environmental and Design Specialist, FHWA, Little Rock, Arkansas.
[FR Doc. 94-983 Filed 1-13-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-22-M