[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 189 (Friday, September 29, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50664-50665]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-24186]



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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Highway Administration


Supplemental Draft and Final Environmental Impact Statement; 
Tuscaloosa County, Alabama

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 a 
Supplemental Draft and a Final Environmental Impact Statement will be 
prepared for a proposed highway project in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mr. Joe D. Wilkerson, Division Administrator, Federal Highway 
Administration, 500 Eastern Boulevard, Suite 200, Montgomery, Alabama 
36117, Telephone: (334) 223-7370, Mr. Jimmy Butts, Director, State of 
Alabama Department of Transportation, 1409 Coliseum Boulevard, 
Montgomery, Alabama 36130, Telephone (334) 242-6311.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FHWA in cooperation with the State of 

[[Page 50665]]
Alabama Department of Transportation, will prepare and circulate for 
comment a Supplemental Draft and a Final Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) for Alabama Highway Project DPI-0080(001) Tuscaloosa County, 
Alabama. This is a proposed bypass of the cities of Northport and 
Tuscaloosa, approximately 29 km (18 miles) in length, beginning at I-59 
east and extending north and west around Tuscaloosa and Northport to 
U.S. Route 82 west of Northport. The proposed limited access multi-lane 
facility provides a much needed new crossing of the Black Warrior River 
which runs generally east and west through the metropolitan area. There 
are presently two routes serving the Tuscaloosa/Northport area that 
cross the Black Warrior River. Both of these facilities have become 
severely congested creating the need for additional river crossings. 
The Tuscaloosa Area Long Range Transportation Plan includes two new 
river crossings. This proposed project is the more urgently needed of 
the two.
    A Notice of Intent was previously published on September 17, 1992, 
to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for this project. Early 
coordination letters describing the proposed action and soliciting 
comments were sent to appropriate Federal, State, local agencies, and 
to private organizations and citizens who had expressed or were known 
to have an interest in the proposal. A scoping meeting, four public 
involvement meetings, and public hearings were held to describe the 
project and solicit public/private input. After these meetings, 
hearings and consideration of comments, the location of a river 
crossing was selected and a FONSI approved on January 14, 1994, for a 
separate project within the overall limits of the bypass for 
construction of a bridge across the river. Funding to begin bridge 
construction was provided in the Intermodal Surface Transportation 
Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA).
    A Draft Environmental Impact Statement (FHWA-AL-EIS-94-01-D) for 
the bypass, which also included discussion of the river crossing 
project, was approved on June 1, 1994. After circulation of the Draft 
Environmental Impact Statement and the public hearing, new comments and 
objections to the alignment north of the river were raised by residents 
of a subdivision north of the river near the proposed location. In 
order to ensure that there was full public knowledge of the proposed 
project and to clarify apparent confusion by some citizens, a 
Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement will be prepared for 
the entire route. Right-of-way acquisition for the bridge project will 
not proceed until approval of the Final Environmental Impact Statement 
and Record of Decision for the entire route.
    Alternatives to be considered and discussed in the Supplemental 
Draft Environmental Impact Statement include: (1) No Action; (2) 
Postponing the Action; (3) Reduced Facility; (4) Improving the Existing 
Facility; (5) Alternate Locations for the Build Alternative; (6) 
Alternate Design Features. Another public hearing will be held after 
approval of the Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement and 
its availability to the public.
    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 Supplemental Draft 
and Final Environmental Impact Statement should be directed to the FHWA 
at the address provided above.
Alfred T. Russell,
Assistant Division Administrator, Federal Highway Administration, 
Montgomery, Alabama.
[FR Doc. 95-24186 Filed 9-28-95; 8:45 am]
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