[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 172 (Friday, September 4, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47340-47341]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-23853]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration


Environmental Impact Statement: Williamson and Travis Counties, 
Texas

AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The FHWA is issuing this notice to advise the public that an 
Environmental Impact Statement will be prepared for a proposed new 
location highway/tollway project in Williamson and Travis Counties, 
Texas.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Walter C. Waidelich, District Engineer Federal Highway Administration, 
Room 850, Federal Building, 300 East 8th Street, Austin, Texas 78701. 
David Kopp, P.E. Texas Turnpike Authority Division, Texas Department of 
Transportation, 125 E. 11th Street, Austin, Texas 78701-2483.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: State Highway 130, as currently envisioned, 
is a proposed controlled access highway which will extend from IH 35 at 
State Highway 195 north of Georgetown in Williamson County, Texas, to 
IH 10 near Sequin in Guadalupe County, Texas. State Highway 130 will be 
located generally parallel to and east of Interstate Highway 35 and the 
urban areas of Austin, San Marcos, and New Braunfels. The total length 
of the proposed facility is 143.5 kilometers (89 miles). The proposed 
State Highway 130 facility is being developed by the FHWA in 
cooperation with the Texas Turnpike Authority Division (TTA) of the 
Texas

[[Page 47341]]

Department of Transportation (TxDOT). It is being developed in three 
segments with each segment having logical termini and independent 
utility. FHWA and TTA will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
for each of the three independent segments.
    This Notice of Intent (NOI) focuses on the northern segment, 
Segment A, of State Highway 130 and supersedes an NOI issued by the 
FHWA on January 5, 1995. As announced herein, the FHWA in cooperation 
with TTA will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement on a proposal 
to construct the Segment A of State Highway 130. Segment A of proposed 
State Highway 130 extends from the junction of Interstate 35 and State 
Highway 195 north of Georgetown in Williamson County, Texas, to U.S. 
Highway 290 east of Austin in Travis County, Texas. The length of 
Segment A varies depending on the selected alternative, from 
approximately 41.5 kilometers (25.7 miles) to 46.6 kilometers (28.9 
miles). The proposed action is intended to relieve congestion on 
Interstate 35 by providing an alternative route for those who commute 
between Austin and surrounding areas as well as drivers desiring to 
bypass the central business areas of Austin, Round Rock and Georgetown. 
The proposed action will also provide improved access and increased 
mobility to urbanized areas in the proposed corridor, help support 
planned business and residential growth in various areas throughout the 
project corridor, and provide needed freeway access from surrounding 
areas to the proposed Austin Bergstrom International Airport.
    A Major Investment Study, addressing the entire length of the 
proposed State Highway 130, was adopted in July 1997 by the Austin 
Transportation Study Policy Advisory Committee, the metropolitan 
planning organization for the Austin, Texas area.
    As currently envisioned the proposed Segment A facility will be a 
controlled access toll road; thus, in conjunction with the EIS and 
selection of a preferred alternative, the TTA will conduct a toll 
feasibility study to evaluate the viability of developing the selected 
alternative as a toll road and financing it, in whole or part, through 
the issuance of revenue bonds. The toll road designation will not 
influence the selection of a preferred alternative. Proposed 
alternatives, including alternative alignments, will be evaluated for 
how well they meet the stated purpose and need for the proposed 
project. Any impacts owing to the toll road designation will be 
discussed in the environmental impact statement.
    The draft EIS for Segment A will address a build alternative 
including multiple alternative alignments. Alternatives to the proposed 
action, which will also be discussed in the EIS, will include (1) 
taking no action, or the ``no build'' alternative, and (2) improving 
existing roadways in the project area. The build alternatives include 
multiple alternative alignments along new location rights-of-way 
connecting Interstate 35 to U.S. Highway 290.
    Impacts caused by the construction and operation of Segment A of 
State Highway 130 will vary according to the alternative alignment 
utilized. Generally, impacts would include the following: 
transportation impacts (construction detours, construction traffic, and 
mobility improvement); air and noise impacts from construction and 
operation of the roadway; water quality impacts from construction areas 
and roadway stormwater runoff; impacts to waters of the United States 
including wetlands from right-of-way encroachment; and impacts to 
residents and businesses.
    Letters describing the proposed action and soliciting comments have 
been sent to appropriate Federal, State, and local agencies, and to 
private organizations and citizens who have previously expressed 
interest in the proposal. Public meetings for the Segment A project 
were held on October 25, 1994, at Everett Williams Elementary School in 
Georgetown, Texas; on October 27, 1994, at Manor High School in Manor 
Texas; on April 9, 1996, at Bluebonnet Trail Elementary School in 
Austin, Texas; on July 15, 1997, at Park Crest Middle School in 
Pflugerville, Texas; and on July 17, 1997, and February 3, 1998, at 
Hopewell Middle School in Round Rock, Texas. At these meetings, public 
comments on the proposed action and alternatives were requested. In 
addition, a public hearing will be held after publication of the Draft 
EIS. Public notice will be given of the time and place of the hearing. 
The Draft EIS will be available for public and agency review and 
comment prior to the public hearing.
    To ensure that the full range of issues related to proposed Segment 
A of State Highway 130 are addressed and all significant issues 
identified, comments and suggestions are invited from all parties. 
Comments or questions concerning this proposed action and the EIS 
should be directed to the FHWA or TTA at the address provided above.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program Number 20.205, 
Highway Research, Planning and Construction. The regulations 
implementing Executive Order 12372 regarding intergovernmental 
consultation on Federal programs and activities apply to this 
program.)
Walter C. Waidelich,
District Engineer.
[FR Doc. 98-23853 Filed 9-3-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4901-22-M