[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