[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 64 (Friday, April 3, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16616-16617]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-8688]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration


Environmental Impact Statement: City of Baton Rouge and 
Unincorporated Parts of East Baton Rouge Parish, LA

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 East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
William C. Farr, Program Operations Manager, P.O. Box 3929, Baton 
Rouge, LA 70801, Telephone: (504) 389-0465.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FHWA, in cooperation with the Louisiana 
Department of Transportation and Development and the Capital Region 
Planning Commission will prepare an environmental impact statement 
(EIS) on a proposal to improve Interstate 10 through Baton Rouge, 
Louisiana. The proposed project includes the construction of an 
additional lane in the east and west bound directions in order to 
provide an eight-lane freeway facility, interchange improvements to 
address safety and capacity problems, as well as frontage road 
additions and extensions. It will also include congestion management 
measures consisting of ramp metering, incident management, park and 
ride lots, transit improvements and demand management strategies.
    The project begins at the eastern end of the Mississippi River 
Bridge and extends eastward along Interstates 10 and 12 to points 
immediately east of the interchanges with Essen Lane. The proposed 
construction is approximately 11.2 kilometers (7 miles) long from the 
western terminus to the eastern terminus of Interstate 10 and 9.7 
kilometers (6 miles) from Interstate 110 to Interstate 12. Interstate 
10 in Baton Rouge is the city's major east-west artery connecting 
government offices, port activities, industrial complexes, Louisiana 
State University, major hospitals and the regional airport with 
residential areas and shopping facilities. The route is heavily 
congested during peak travel times and experiences frequent lane 
blocking accidents. These conditions result in almost daily delays, 
which impede commuting, cross country freight movements, emergency 
vehicle responses and provide hazards to the transportation of the 
region's petro-chemical products.
    The project has been the subject of a Major Investment Study (MIS) 
that examined all reasonable alternatives including improvements to 
alternate facilities, transit, high occupancy vehicles (HOV), lanes, a 
bypass, an elevated freeway, congestion management measures and 
improvements within the I-10 corridor, as well as the ``do nothing'' 
alternative.
    Public involvement activities including neighborhood meetings, 
steering committee activities, newsletters and a public hearing will be

[[Page 16617]]

used to obtain input from citizens who may be affected by the proposal. 
All of the neighborhood meetings and the public hearing will be open to 
all citizens and advertised in the Baton Rouge media to solicit general 
public participation. An agency scoping meeting is planned; however, 
arrangements have not yet been completed.
    To ensure that a 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 inter-governmental consultation on 
federal program and activities apply to this program)

    Issued on: March 25, 1998.
William A. Sussmann,
Division Administrator, Baton Rouge, LA.
[FR Doc. 98-8688 Filed 4-2-98; 8:45 am]
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