[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 54 (Thursday, March 20, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13426-13427]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-7080]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Highway Administration
Environmental Impact Statement: Yamhill County, OR
AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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[[Page 13427]]
SUMMARY: The FHWA is issuing this notice to all concerned that an
environmental impact statement will be prepared for a proposed
transportation improvement project in the Newberg-Dundee area in
Yamhill County, Oregon.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Elton Chang, Environmental Engineer, Federal Highway Administration,
530 Center Street NE., Suite 100, Salem, Oregon, 97301, Telephone:
(503) 399-5749, Fax: (503) 399-5838, or Dick Upton, Economic
Partnerships Unit, Oregon Department of Transportation, 2950 State
Street, Room 120, Salem, Oregon, 97310, Telephone: (503) 986-5816, Fax:
(503) 986-5813.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FHWA, in cooperation with the Oregon
Department of Transportation, will prepare an Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) on a set of multi-modal solutions to transportation
problems identified on the Pacific Highway West (Highway 99W) through
Newberg and Dundee area, in Yamhill County, Oregon. The proposed
alternatives will be solutions to the increasing travel demands in and
through the Newberg-Dundee area which exceeds the capacity of the
existing transportation system. Specifically, weekday as well as
weekend travel demands exceed available capacity, the highway's
physical features constrain traffic, and few transit options are
available within the corridor. Several user groups compete for limited
capacity, including commuters, freight, local trips, and tourist/
recreation trips between the Portland Metropolitan Area and the Oregon
Coast. Traffic congestion is expected to worsen in the future on
Highway 99W as Yamhill County's population and tourist activity
increase. Continued traffic congestion will inconvenience travelers;
divert trips to alternative routes through the communities; impede
freight movement; alter commuting patterns; reduce the ability of some
local businesses to attract and serve customers; and adversely affect
pedestrian, bicycle, and vehicular access and safety.
As a first step in the environmental review process, a corridor-
level alternatives analysis will be conducted. Alternatives currently
being studied are multimodal, and it is expected that the preferred
alternative will be a combination of a number of modes with other
measures to address the transportation problem. Alternatives being
considered in the NEPA process include the base conditions (no action
alternative), transportation system management, capacity improvements
to Highway 99W (including widening the existing route), a bypass north
of Highway 99W from east of Newberg to south of Dundee, a bypass south
of Highway 99W from east of Newberg to the Highway 99W/Highway 18
intersection, a bypass from the Highway 99W/Highway 18 intersection to
Interstate 5, commuter train service between McMinnville and the
Portland Metropolitan Area on improved trackage, and light rail transit
service between McMinnville and the Portland Metropolitan Area on new
trackage. All alternatives will include planned projects and those
likely to occur by 2020. All except the base condition alternative will
include transportation system management, demand management and land
use elements. All of the highway alternatives will also include express
bus elements. Bypass alternatives will include consideration of tolls
as a funding source.
These multi-modal alternatives will be screened by considering
their relative ability to meet travel needs, human health and safety,
environmental quality, community economics, socio/cultural quality,
project cost and implementability objectives. The alternatives that
best meet these objectives will be refined and screened again. The
preferred multi-modal alternative(s) resulting from this process and
the base conditions alternative will be examined in detail in an EIS.
Preparation of the DEIS is expected to begin early in 1998.
Newsletters describing alternatives analysis activities and
soliciting comments will be sent to appropriate Federal, State, local
agencies, private organizations and individuals who have expressed or
are known to have an interest in this improvement project. A Project
Oversight Steering Team (POST), comprised of elected officials and
transportation agency representatives, will direct project work and
make recommendations to the Oregon Transportation Commission and
affected local jurisdictions. A Project Advisory Committee, comprised
of representatives of a broad range of stakeholder interests, will make
recommendations to the POST. An Agency Advisory Committee, comprised of
representatives of Federal and State resource agencies, will meet
periodically to provide information on key decision points. Several
public workshops will be held in the project area during the process to
solicit information on issues that should be addressed, evaluation
criteria that should be used, and alternatives that should be evaluated
as well as to present results of the alternatives evaluation and to
solicit opinions on the preferred alternative. Public notice will be
given of the times and locations of the meetings. These outreach
activities, taken together, will function as part of the scoping
process for the project. A formal scoping meeting is expected to be
scheduled for the summer of 1997.
To ensure that the full range of issues related to this proposed
action are addressed and all significant issues are identified,
comments, and suggestions are invited from all interested parties.
Comments and questions concerning this proposed action and the EIS
should be directed to the FHWA at the address provided.
(Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance Program Number 20.205,
Highway Research, Planning and Construction. The regulations
implementing Executive Order 12372 regarding intergovernmental
consultation of federal programs and activities apply to this
program)
Issued on: March 12, 1997.
Elton Chang,
Environmental Engineer, Federal Highway Administration, Salem, Oregon.
[FR Doc. 97-7080 Filed 3-19-97; 8:45 am]
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