[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 83 (Monday, April 30, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21432-21434]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-10670]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration


Environmental Impact Statement on Transit Improvements in Miami, 
Florida

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact 
statement.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA), the Florida 
Department of Transportation (FDOT), and Miami-Dade Transit (MDT) in 
issuing this notice to advise that an Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) is being prepared on the proposed Airport/Earlington Heights 
Connector Project in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The EIS will be 
prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969 (NEPA), as amended.
    The EIS will evaluate the following alternatives: a no build 
alternative; a transportation systems management alternative; three 
Metrorail extension alternatives from Earlington Heights to the 
Airport, and a People Mover extension alternative. Scoping will be 
accomplished through meetings and correspondence with interested 
persons, organizations, the general public, Federal, State and local 
agencies.

DATES: Comment Due Date: Written comments on the scope of 
the alternatives and impacts to be considered should be sent to Aurelio 
Rodriguez, Project Manager by May 30, 2001. See ADDRESSES 
below.
    Scoping Meetings: Miami-Dade Transit public scoping 
meetings will be held on Tuesday May 15, 2001 at 12 p.m. and at 7 p.m. 
at the Miami-Dade Transit office located at 3300 NW 32nd Avenue, First 
Floor Conference Room, Miami, Florida.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the project scope should be sent 
to Mr. Aurelio Rodriguez, Director, Miami-Dade Transit, 111 NW First 
Street, Suite 910, Miami, Florida 33128-1970. See DATES section 
above for the location of scoping meeting.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Elizabeth Martin, 
Community Planner, Federal Transit Administration, (404) 562-3509.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Scoping

    The MDT and FTA invite interested individuals, organizations, and 
federal, state, and local agencies to participate in refining the 
Airport/Earlington Heights Connector DEIS, including alignment and 
project locations. Comments should focus on identifying any significant 
social, economic, or environmental issues related to the alignments. 
Specific suggestions related to additional alternatives to be examined 
and issues to be addressed are welcome and will be considered in the 
final scope for the project. Scoping comments should focus on the 
issues and alternative for analysis, and not on preference for 
particular alternatives. Individual preference for particular 
alternatives should be communicated during the comment period for Draft 
EIS. Comments may be made at the meeting or in writing no later than 
May 30, 2001 (see DATES and ADDRESSES above for meeting 
times and locations and the address for written comments). A scoping 
information packet is available from Mr. Aurelio Rodriguez of MDT at 
the address given above in the ADDRESS section or on the MDT 
internet webpage at http://www.co.miami-dade.fl.us/mdta.

II. Description of Study Area and Project Need

    The project area is located in central Miami-Dade County. The 
limits for the project area extend from NW 42nd Avenue (LeJeune Road) 
eastward to NW 22nd Avenue and from NW 46th Street southwards to NW 
20th Street. The study area is traversed diagonally by the Miami River, 
in a northwest to southeast direction.
    The project proposes a 2.5-mile elevated heavy rail connection from 
the existing Earlington Heights Metrorail station to the MIC-MIA 
connector in the proposed MIC transfer station. The project involves 
planning and environmental investigations, travel demand forecasting, 
traffic impact analysis, operations and maintenance planning, and 
financial assessments for the alignment alternatives.
    Steady growth in South Florida in recent years has led to 
increasingly congested streets and highways in Miami-Dade County. Heavy 
congestion is especially significant during travel destined to MIA and 
the large employment centers surrounding the airport. Vehicles 
traveling from south

[[Page 21433]]

and west Miami-Dade County heading to downtown Miami must travel the 
same route as vehicles bound for the airport. This traffic congestion 
will steadily worsen as the streets and highways of Miami-Dade County 
surpass their carrying capacity. Based on this traffic condition, there 
is a need to provide an alternative transportation mode between 
downtown Miami and the airport that offers convenient, rapid and safe 
travel in place of the automobile.
    This project was developed as a means to ease severe congestion on 
area expressways resulting from increasing passenger travel to and from 
MIA. The specific goal of the Airport/Earlington Heights Connector 
project is to provide a public transit connection between the existing 
Earlington Heights Metrorail station and MIA. The alignments under 
consideration would connect to the airport via the intermodal transfer 
center being proposed under the Miami Intermodal Center (MIC) project.
    This new connection to the Metrorail system will provide a critical 
link in passenger travel throughout Miami-Dade County. Passengers 
traveling to and from MIA will be able to avoid highway congestion 
through use of the new Airport Connector. By connecting to the 
Earlington Heights Metrorail Station, passengers will then be able to 
travel to northern and southern portions of Miami-Dade County. This 
critical link will also allow passengers to travel directly between MIA 
and downtown Miami by rail.
    The MIA area is one of the largest employment centers in Miami-Dade 
County. The Earlington Heights connector to the MIC will provide 
critical access to employment opportunities for transit dependent 
populations in adjacent residential areas and the cities of Hialeah, 
Brownsville and Liberty City.

III. Alternatives

    The transporation alternatives proposed for consideration in this 
project area include:
    No-Project Alternative--The No-Project Alternative includes the 
existing street, highway, and transit facilities and services and those 
transit and highway improvements planned and programmed to be 
implemented by 2020. This alternative provides the baseline for 
establishing the environmental impacts of the project, and assumes the 
following projects will be completed:
     Extension of the Stage 1 Metrorail Line to a new station 
just west of the Palmetto Expressway, a new park-and-ride facility at 
that location, and access ramps to and from the north on the Palmetto 
expressway.
     Increase in Tri-Rail frequencies to 20-minute headways 
during peak periods between MIA and Mangonia Park Station in West Palm 
Beach.
    Transportation System Management Alternative--The Transportation 
Systems Management (TSM) Alternative is defined as low cost, 
operationally oriented improvements to address the identified 
transportation problems in the corridor. It also provides a baseline 
against which all of the Build alternatives are evaluated.
     Additional Metrorail service from Dadeland South to the 
Palmetto Station. The additional service would decrease headways on 
that segment of the line from 7.5 minutes to 3.75 minutes in peak 
periods and from 20 minutes to 7.5 minutes in off-peak periods.
     Increased Tri-Rail Service between the MIC and the Tri-
Rail/Metrorail Transfer station at NW 79th Street. The train would 
operate every 15 minutes during peak periods and every 20 minutes 
during off-peak periods.
     The operation of a bus service between the MIC and the 
Earlington Heights Metrorail station.
    The TSM alternative also includes all improvements identified under 
the No-Project alternative.
    Three Metrorail extension Alternatives--The Metrorail Extension 
option consists of extending the Stage 1 Metrorail line from the 
Earlington Heights Station to the Airport. The existing Stage 1 line 
heads westward from the Earlington Heights Station to NW 27th Avenue at 
which point it turns northwards and continues along NW 27th Avenue to 
the Brownsville Station.
    Three potential alignments have been proposed to connect the 
Earlington Heights Station to MIA via the MIC hub:
    NW 27th Avenue Alignment--The branch would start from the existing 
Stage 1 line at Earlington Heights and begin a gradual turn to the 
south at approximately NW 25th Avenue. The line crosses over SR 112 at 
NW 26th Avenue and follow a southward path in the median of NW 27th 
Avenue. The line begins a westerly turn at NW 26th Street and runs 
westward along NW 24th Street. The line crosses the Miami River in the 
3100 block of North River Drive, continues westward north of NW 21st 
Street, and terminates at the MIC.
    NW 32nd Avenue Alignment--This branch would commence at the 
existing Metrorail line at Earlington Heights, continue westward across 
NW 27th Avenue, and cross SR 112 at approximately NW 31st Avenue. The 
line continues southward along NW 32nd Avenue and turn in a 
southwesterly direction at approximately NW 28th Street. The line 
crosses the Miami River in the 3200 block of NW North River Drive, 
heads westwards along NW 22nd Street, and terminates at the MIC.
    South Florida Rail Corridor (SFRC) Alignment--The extension of this 
branch heads westwards from Earlington Heights over NW 27th Avenue, and 
crosses SR 112 between NW 27th and NW 28th Avenues. The line parallels 
SR 112 and the proposed SR 112/SR 836 Interconnector to the south and 
begins its southward path just west of NW 37th Avenue. The line would 
cross the Miami River just downstream of the existing SFRC Bridge 
continuing its southward path and terminating at the MIC.

One People Mover Extension Alternative

    The People Mover Extension alternative involves the extension of 
the MIC/MIA Interconnecter Automatic People Mover (APM) system. The 
alignment would proceed northbound from the MIC, following the 
alignment that was previously described for the SFRC Metrorail 
Extension alternative. However, this alternative features the option to 
terminate at either the Earlington Heights or the Brownsville Metrorail 
Stations. In the Brownsville Station alternative, the line would turn 
northwards just west of NW 27th Avenue and follow the existing line to 
the station.

IV. Probable Effects

    The FTA, FDOT, and MDT will evaluate all significant environmental, 
social, and economic impacts of the alternatives analyzed in the EIS. 
Primary Structural environmental issues include: environmental justice, 
neighborhood protection, aesthetics, the bridge crossing over the Miami 
River, flight path clear zones and glide slopes, recreational 
greenways, alternative modes of transportation, hydrology and storm 
water management, archaeological and historic resources, ecological 
issues. Environmental and social impacts proposed for analysis include 
land use, zoning, and economic development; secondary development; land 
acquisition, displacements, and relocation of existing uses; historic; 
visual and aesthetic qualities; neighborhoods and communities; 
environmental justice; air quality; noise and vibration; hazardous 
materials; ecosystems; water resources; energy; safety and security; 
utilities; traffic and transportation impacts. Impacts on natural 
areas, rare and endangered species, ground water and potentially 
contaminated sites, wetlands, and

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floodplain areas. Potential impacts will be assessed for the long-term 
operation of each alternative and the short-term construction period. 
Measures to avoid, minimize, or mitigate any significant adverse 
impacts will be identified.

V. FTA Procedures

    The EIS process will be performed in accordance with applicable 
laws and Federal Transit Administration regulations and guidelines for 
preparing an Environmental Impact Statement. The impacts of the project 
will be assessed, and, if necessary, the scope of the project will be 
revised or refined to minimize and mitigate any adverse impacts. After 
its publication, the draft EIS will be available for public review and 
comment. One or more public hearings will be held during the draft EIS 
public comment period. On the basis of the draft EIS and comments 
received, the project will be revised or further refined as necessary 
and the final EIS prepared.

    Issued On: April 24, 2001.
Jerry Franklin,
Regional Administrator.
[FR Doc. 01-10670 Filed 4-27-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-57-P