[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 194 (Monday, October 7, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62517-62518]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-25345]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration


Environmental Impact Statement; Olmsted County, MN

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 (EIS) will be prepared for the proposed 
reconstruction of Trunk Highway (TH) 14 and bridge replacement over the 
Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern (DM&E) Railroad line, from the end of the 
four-lane roadway on the east side of Rochester through Eyota, 
approximately 8 miles, in Olmsted County, Minnesota.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cheryl Martin, Federal Highway 
Administration, Galtier Plaza, 380 Jackson Street, Suite 500, St. Paul, 
Minnesota 55101, Telephone (651) 291-6120; or Craig Lenz, Project 
Manager, Minnesota Department of Transportation--District 6, 2900 48th 
Street NW., Rochester, Minnesota 55901, Telephone (507) 285-7353; (651) 
296-9930 TTY.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FHWA, in cooperation with the Minnesota 
Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT), will prepare an EIS on a 
proposal to reconstruct TH 14, including replacement of the bridge over 
the DM&E Railroad line, from the end of the four-lane roadway on the 
east side of the City of Rochester through the City of Eyota, 
approximately 8 miles, in Olmsted County, Minnesota. The project 
proposes to replace a seventy-three year old railroad bridge and 
improve the geometry of the bridge approaches and the roadway segment 
in order to address identified safety, operational, structural, and 
geometric deficiencies.
    TH 14 is a major east-west highway in southern Minnesota and plays 
a major role in the movement of people and goods. This roadway serves a 
variety of travel demands including mobility to serve commuter, 
commercial, and recreational traffic and access to homes, farms, and 
commercial retail businesses. The purpose of the project is to address 
present and future safety, operations, structural and geometric 
deficiencies along this segment of TH 14. Identified problems include 
high crash rates; lack of passing zones; several accesses to the 
roadway; geometric deficiencies in the roadway design including sharp 
curves, narrow shoulders and minimal vertical and horizontal clearance 
under the bridge; and a decrease to unacceptable levels of service in 
the future if no improvements are made.
    The EIS will evaluate the social, economic, transportation and 
environmental impacts of alternatives, including: No-Build and Build 
Alternatives. Each of the three proposed Build Alternatives will 
include both a four-lane suburban and a four-lane rural roadway design 
and all of the Build Alternatives assume a roadway overpass of the DM&E 
Railroad. The Build alternatives include: Alternative 1: Existing 
Alignment--Central Bridge Location (over the railroad), Alternative 2: 
North Alignment--West Bridge Location (over the railroad), and 
Alternative 3: South Alignment--East Bridge Location (over the 
railroad). The ``Trunk Highway 14 Scoping Document/Draft Scoping 
Decision Document'' will be published in October 2002. A press release 
will be published to inform the public of the document's availability. 
Copies of the scoping document will be distributed to agencies, 
interested persons and libraries for review to aid in identifying 
issues and analyses to be contained in the EIS. A thirty-day comment 
period for review of the document will be provided to afford an 
opportunity for all interested persons, agencies and groups to comment 
on the proposed action. Interagency and public scoping meetings will 
also be held during the comment period. The Interagency and public 
scoping and information meetings have been scheduled for Wednesday, 
December 4, 2002 from 2 to 3:30 p.m. at the Eyota City Hall, 38 West 
South Front Street, and 4:30 to 7 p.m. to the Dover-Eyota High School, 
615 South Avenue, respectively. Public notice will be given for these 
meetings.
    A Draft EIS will be prepared based on the outcome of the scoping 
process. The Draft EIS will be available for agency

[[Page 62518]]

and public review and comment. In addition, a public hearing will be 
held following completion of the Draft EIS. Public Notice will be given 
for the time and place of the public hearing on the Draft EIS.
    Coordination has been initiated and will continue with appropriate 
Federal, State and local agencies and private organizations and 
citizens who have previously expressed or are known to have an interest 
in the proposed action. To ensure that the full range of issues related 
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.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program Number 20.205, 
Highway Planning and Construction. The regulations implementing 
Executive Order 12372 regarding intergovernmental consultation on 
Federal programs and activities apply to this program.)

    Issued on: September 27, 2002.
Stanley M. Graczyk,
Project Development Engineer, Federal Highway Administration, St. Paul, 
Minnesota.
[FR Doc. 02-25345 Filed 10-4-02; 8:45 am]
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