[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 12 (Wednesday, January 20, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Page 3147]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-173]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration


Environmental Impact Statement: Hinds and Rankin Counties, 
Mississippi

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 the Pearl River 
Bridge and Jackson International Airport Parkway/Mississippi 25 
Connectors between Interstate 55, the Jackson International Airport, 
and Mississippi Highway 25 in the vicinity of Jackson, Flowood, and 
Pearl, Mississippi.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cecil Vick, Reality Officer/
Environmental Coordinator, Federal Highway Administration, 666 North 
Street, Suite 105, Jackson MS 29202-3199, Telephone: (601) 965-4217. 
Contacts at the State and local level, respectively are: Mr. Billie 
Barton, Environmental/Location Division Engineer, Mississippi 
Department of Transportation, P.O. Box 1850, Jackson, MS, 39215-1850, 
telephone: (601) 359-7920; and Mr. William Hillman, District Engineer, 
Mississippi Department of Transportation, 7759 Highway 80 W., Newton 
MS, 39345, telephone (601) 683-3341.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FHWA, in cooperation with the 
Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) will prepare an 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the proposed Pearl River Bridge 
and Jackson International Airport Parkway/Mississippi 25 Connectors in 
Hinds and Rankin Counties, Mississippi. The proposed connectors would 
begin at Interstate 55 at or near High Street in Jackson, Mississippi 
and extend eastward across the Pearl River to connect with Mississippi 
Highway 475 south of the Jackson International Airport and with 
Mississippi Highway 25 north of the Jackson International Airport. The 
proposal is for a full control of access facility, and interchanges 
will be studied at various locations. The estimated length of the 
project is 14.9 kilometers (9.3 miles).
    State and Federal legislation authorized studies of the bridge and 
connectors and the Intermodeal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 
1998, authorized partial funding for design, right of way, or 
construction. Alternatives under consideration include (1) taking no 
action and (2) build alternative.
    Initial environmental studies for the proposed project began as an 
Environmental Assessment. As part of the Environmental Assessment 
Process, the FHWA and MDOT sought input through the scoping process to 
assist in determining and clarifying issues relative to this project. 
Letters describing the proposed action and soliciting comments were 
sent to appropriate federal, state, and local agencies, and to private 
organizations and citizens who had previously expressed or were known 
to have an interest in the proposal. A formal scoping meeting with 
federal, state, and local agencies, and other interested parties was 
held October 30, 1996. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Fish 
and Wildlife Service, and the Mississippi Department of Wildlife 
Fisheries and Parks became cooperating agencies. The scoping process 
and interagency coordination is continuing and has reached the point 
where the FHWA and MDOT have determined that completion of an EIS is 
appropriate.
    Coordination will be continued with federal, state, and local 
agencies, and with private organizations and citizens who express or 
are known to have interest in this proposal. The draft EIS will be 
available for public and agency review and comment prior to the 
official public hearing.
    To ensure that the full range of issues relating 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.
Lawrence J. Kastner,
Assistant Division Administrator, Jackson, Mississippi.
[FR Doc. 99-173 Filed 1-19-99; 8:45 am]
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