[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 4 (Thursday, January 6, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 801-802]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-258]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration
Coast Guard


Woodrow Wilson Bridge; Potomac River, District of Columbia and 
Prince George's County, MD

AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration, Coast Guard, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of public hearing; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Highway Administration together with the Coast 
Guard, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, District of Columbia Department of 
Health, Maryland State Highway Administration, Virginia Department of 
Transportation and Maryland Department of Environment will hold two 
public hearings to receive information concerning the environmental and 
navigational impacts of the replacement of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. 
The bridge is located on Interstate 495/95 where it crosses the Potomac 
River, mile 103.80, at District of Columbia and Prince George's County, 
Maryland. The hearings will allow interested persons to present 
comments and information concerning the bridge alternative under 
consideration.

DATES: The hearing will start 7 p.m. on Tuesday, February 8, and 
Thursday, February 10, 2000 and display materials will be available 
beginning at 5:30 p.m. on these dates. Comments must be received by 
February 25, 2000. Requests to speak at either hearing and requests for 
services must be received by February 1, 2000.

ADDRESSES: The hearing on February 8 will be held at Best Western 
Potomac View, 6400 Oxon Hill Road, Oxon Hill, Maryland 20745. On 
February 10, the hearing will be at Radisson Hotel--Old Town 
Alexandria, 901 North Fairfax Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314. 
Written comments may be submitted to, and will be available for 
examination between 7:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, except 
Federal holidays, at the office of the Commander (Aowb), Fifth Coast 
Guard District, 431 Crawford Street, Portsmouth, Virginia 23703-5004. 
Please submit all comments in an unbound format, no larger than 8 by 11 
inches, suitable for copying and electronic filing. Persons wanting 
acknowledgement of receipt of comments should enclose a stamped, self-
addressed postcard or envelope.
    Requests to speak at either hearing and requests to be placed on 
the project mailing lists may be submitted to Ms. Norine Walker, P.E., 
at the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Center, 1800 Duke Street, Suite 200, 
Alexandria, Virginia 22314 or 6009 Oxon Hill Road, Suite 410, Oxon 
Hill, Maryland 20745.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. John Gerner, Project Manager 
(FHWA), Woodrow Wilson Bridge Center, 1800 Duke Street, Suite 200, 
Alexandria, Virginia 22314 (703 519-9800); Mr. N.E. Mpras, Chief, 
Office of Bridge Administration, Commandant (G-OPT), U.S. Coast Guard, 
2100 Second Street, SW, Washington, DC 20593 (202 267-0368); or Ms. Ann 
Deaton, Chief, Bridge Administration Branch, Fifth Coast Guard 
District, Federal Building, 431 Crawford Street, Portsmouth, Virginia 
23704-5004 (757 398-6222).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) proposes to replace the 
Woodrow Wilson Bridge over the Potomac River and to modify the 
associated roadway and interchanges in a 7.5 mile section of I-95/I-495 
(Capital Beltway) from west of Telegraph Road (VA 241) in Virginia to 
east of Indian Head Highway (MD 210) in Maryland. The western portion 
of the project corridor is located in Fairfax County and the City of 
Alexandria in Virginia. The drawspans on the Woodrow Wilson Bridge are 
located in the southern tip of the District of Columbia. The eastern 
portion of the corridor is located in Prince George's County, Maryland. 
The purpose of the proposed action is to address existing capacity 
constraints, safety, and structural deficiencies associated with the 
Woodrow Wilson Bridge, and to enhance vehicular mobility in the 
corridor while addressing environmental and community concerns.
    The new Woodrow Wilson Bridge will replace the existing bridge with 
two new, parallel, double leaf, bascule drawbridges, each with a 366-
foot span and a clearance of 70 feet over the navigation channel. One 
span will carry eastbound traffic and the other westbound traffic, and 
the structure will be constructed approximately 30 feet south of the 
existing bridge. The westbound span, carrying the inner loop of the 
Capital Beltway, would be 124 feet wide, including a 12-foot wide 
pedestrian/bicycle facility with a 2-foot wide barrier. The eastbound 
span, carrying the outer loop of the Capital Beltway, would be 110 feet 
wide. Eleven ``V''-shaped, concrete piers will support the bridges. The 
bridges will be protected at the navigational channel by twelve, 45-
foot diameter, sheet pile dolphins with a pipe pile supported, concrete 
guideway with fendering north and south of the bridge piers. The 
bridges would include a total of 12 lanes (six lanes in each 
direction). Each bridge is 4,100 feet long, over Maryland water, with a 
total length of 6,075 feet.
    The FHWA is the lead Federal agency for the environmental 
documentation for this project. The Coast Guard has been involved as a 
cooperating agency during the preparation of the Draft Supplemental 
Environmental Impact Statement (DSEIS). The U.S. Coast Guard is the 
Federal agency responsible

[[Page 802]]

for protecting the freedom of navigation with due consideration being 
given to the quality of the human environment and by taking a balanced 
approach to total transportation systems, both land and water modes. 
The Coast Guard must ensure that proposed bridge projects provide for 
the reasonable needs of present and prospective marine transportation. 
Interested and affected parties are requested to express their views, 
in writing, on the impacts of the construction of the proposed bridges 
on navigation and the quality of the human environment, including 
impacts on historic, recreational, endangered species, and wetlands, 
giving sufficient detail to establish a clear understanding of their 
reasons for support of or opposition to the proposed work.

Procedural

    Individuals and representatives of organizations that wish to 
present testimony at either Hearing or who want to be placed on the 
project mailing list, may submit a request to Ms. Norine Walker, P.E., 
at the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Center, 1800 Duke Street, Suite 200, 
Alexandria, Virginia 22314 or 6009 Oxon Hill Road, Suite 410, Oxon 
Hill, Maryland 20745. Requests to speak should be received no later 
than February 1, 2000 in order to ensure proper schedule of the 
hearing. Attendees at the hearing who wish to present testimony and 
have not previously made a request to do so, will follow those on the 
previously established list. Brochures and forms for written comments 
will be sent to those on the mailing list. Written statements and other 
exhibits in lieu of or in addition to oral presentation at the Hearing 
may be submitted to Ms. Walker at the address under ADDRESSES until 
February 25, 2000, in order to be included in the Public Hearing 
Transcript.

Information on Services for Individuals With Disabilities

    Appropriate auxiliary aids and services for qualified individuals 
with disabilities or non-English speaking persons will be provided upon 
request. Please submit requests for these services to Ms. Norine 
Walker, at the address under ADDRESSES in writing or by calling either 
of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Centers at 703-519-9800 or 301-686-0000 or 
fax request to 703-548-4593 or 301-868-0001 or teletype to 1-800-735-
2258 (MD Statewide toll free). Any requests for an oral or sign 
language interpreter must be received by February 1, 2000.

    Dated: December 30, 1999.
George K. Frick, Jr.,
Acting Division Administrator, Federal Highway Administration.
Terry M. Cross,
Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Director of Operations Policy.
[FR Doc. 00-258 Filed 1-5-00; 8:45 am]
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