[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 195 (Friday, October 8, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Page 54948]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-26241]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Highway Administration
Environmental Impact Statement: Williamson, Travis, Caldwell and
Guadalupe Counties, TX
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 new
location highway/tollway facility, designated as State Highway 130, in
Williamson, Travis, Caldwell and Guadalupe Counties, Texas. This notice
supersedes any and all previous notices pertaining to proposed State
Highway 130 (Segments A, B or C including Federal Register 172 [9-4-
98]; Federal Register 191 [10-2-98] Federal Register 230 [12-1-98]).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Walter C. Waidelich, District
Engineer, Federal Highway Administration, Room 850 Federal Building,
300 East 8th Street, Austin, Texas 78701 Telephone: (512) 916-5988.
David C. Kopp, P.E., Texas Turnpike Authority Division, Texas
Department of Transportation, 125 E. 11th Street, Austin Texas 78701-
2483 Telephone: (512) 936-0980.
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 Seguin 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 approximately 90 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 Department of
Transportation. Previous Notices for State Highway 130, which were
published in the Federal Register, the Texas Register and newspapers
having general circulation in the project area, indicated that State
Highway 130 would be developed in three independent segments and that
an environmental impact statement would be prepared for each of the
three segments. Subsequent to publication of those notices, FHWA and
TTA decided to prepare a single environmental impact statement
addressing State Highway 130 in its entirety. This Notice serves to
announce that recent decision and FHWA's intent to prepare, in
cooperation with TTA, one environmental impact statement for State
Highway 130 within the limits described above. All previous notices
pertaining to State Highway 130 are hereby superseded.
The purpose of proposed State Highway 130 is to relieve congestion
on Interstate Highway 35 and other major transportation facilities
within the Austin-San Antonio corridor, improve mobility, and increase
accessibility to important public facilities.
A major investment study, addressing the entire length of proposed
State Highway 130, was endorsed in July 1997 by the Austin
Transportation Study Policy Advisory Committee (now known as the
Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization), the metropolitan
planning organization for the Austin, Texas area.
The proposed facility is being planned as a toll road candidate;
thus, in conjunction with the EIS and selection of a preferred
alternative, 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 in 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 action. Any impacts owing to the toll road
designation will be discussed in the environmental impact statement.
The draft EIS will address a build alternative including multiple
alternative alignments along existing and new location rights-of-way.
Taking no action, or the ``no build'' alternative, will also be
evaluated in the EIS.
Impacts caused by construction of and operation of State Highway
130 will vary according to the alternative selected. Generally, the
project may include construction impacts, socio-economic impacts and
impacts to the natural and built environment.
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. Numerous public meetings have been held for
State Highway 130. The most recent meetings were held on February 3,
1998, at Hopewell Middle School in Round Rock, Texas; November 5, 1998,
at Barbara Jordan Elementary School in Austin, Texas; December 2, 1998,
at the Seguin Coliseum in Seguin, Texas; and on December 8, 1998, at
Plum Creek Elementary School in Lockhart, Texas. At these and previous
meetings, public comments on the proposed action and alternatives were
requested.
Public hearings on the proposed action will be held after
publication of the Draft EIS. Public notice will be given of the time
and place of the hearings. The Draft EIS will be available for public
and agency review and comment prior to the public hearings.
To ensure that the full range of issues related to proposed 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 addresses 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 of Federal programs and activities apply to this
program)
Walter C. Waidelich,
District Engineer, Austin, Texas.
[FR Doc. 99-26241 Filed 10-7-99; 8:45 am]
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