[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 248 (Thursday, December 26, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78854-78855]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-32514]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration


Environmental Impact Statement; Sherburne and Stearns Counties, 
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 a 
Tier I environmental impact statement (EIS) will be prepared for a 
proposed east/west minor arterial connection between Trunk Highway (TH) 
15 and TH 10, including a crossing of the Mississippi River, in an area 
south of 10th Street South and north of Interstate 94 in the St. Cloud 
Metropolitan Area, Sherburne and Stearns Counties, Minnesota. The Tier 
I EIS will include the analysis needed for a location decision.

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 Scott Mareck, 
Transportation Planner/GIS Coordinator, St. Cloud Area Planning 
Organization, 1040 County Road 4, St. Cloud, Minnesota 56303, Telephone 
(320) 252-7568.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FHWA, in cooperation with the City of 
St. Cloud, Minnesota, will prepare a Tier I EIS on a proposal to 
construct an east/west minor arterial connection between TH 15 and TH 
10, in an area south of 10th Street South and north of Interstate 94 in 
the St. Cloud Metropolitan Area, in Sherburne and Stearns Counties, 
Minnesota. The proposed action is being considered to preserve an 
alignment for the construction of a future highway, including a river 
crossing, to address the need for improved east/west minor arterial 
continuity, land use and trip generation growth, and forecasted 2025 
congestion on existing bridges.
    The Tier I EIS will evaluate the social, economic, transportation 
and environmental impacts of alternatives, including: (1) No-Build, (2) 
Transportation Demand Management, and (3) Three alignment alternatives 
identified within the 33rd Street Corridor.
    The Tier II EIS will be prepared in fifteen to twenty years. At 
that time, design alternatives for the preferred alignment will be 
considered and environmental impacts and mitigation will be studied in 
greater detail. It is anticipated that the ``St. Cloud Metropolitan 
Area Mississippi River Crossing Scoping Document/Draft Scoping Decision 
Document'' will be published early in 2003. 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 Tier I 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. A public scoping meeting will also be held during the 
comment period. Public notice will be given for the time and place of 
the meeting. A Tier I Draft EIS will be prepared based on the outcome 
of the scoping process.
    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.)


[[Page 78855]]


    Issued on: December 17, 2002.
Stanley M. Graczyk,
Project Development Engineer, Federal Highway Administration, St. Paul, 
Minnesota.
[FR Doc. 02-32514 Filed 12-24-02; 8:45 am]
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