[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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