[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 203 (Tuesday, October 21, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60145-60146]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-26510]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration

Federal Transit Administration


Environmental Impact Statement: Denver, Broomfield, Adams, 
Jefferson and Boulder Counties, CO

AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Federal Transit 
Administration (FTA), U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement.

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SUMMARY: The FHWA and FTA are issuing this notice to advise the public 
that an Environmental Impact Statement and a Section 4(f) Evaluation 
(EIS/4(f)) will be prepared for transportation improvements in the City 
and County of Denver, City and County of Broomfield, Adams County, 
Jefferson County, Boulder County, the City of Westminster, City of 
Broomfield, Town of Superior, City of Louisville, and the City of 
Boulder, Colorado. Improvements will be considered generally between 
Boulder and Downtown Denver along the US 36 highway alignment, the 
Burlington Northern and Santa Fe (BNSF) rail line, SH 157 in Boulder 
and the area around the northern entry of SH 119 northeast of Boulder. 
The relationships of concurrent projects such as the Northwest Corridor 
EIS, the North I-25 EIS, the US36/US287 Interchange Environmental 
Assessment and the Denver Union Station Intermodal Master Plan EIS will 
also be considered.
    The purpose of this notice is to notify interested individuals, 
organizations, and business entities, affected Native American Tribes, 
and Federal, State, and local governmental agencies of the intent to 
prepare an EIS/4(f) and to invite participation in the study. 
Transportation improvements are needed to meet current and future 
travel demands and to upgrade the transportation facilities in the 
corridor consistent with current standards and procedures.

DATES: Written comments on the scope of alternatives and impacts to be 
considered must be submitted by December 5, 2003 to Marion McCleary, 
Project Administrator, at the address below.
    Project Scoping will be accomplished through coordination with 
affected parties, stakeholders, organizations, Federal, State, and 
local agencies; agency Scoping meetings; and through community outreach 
and public meetings in the project corridor. Meetings will be conducted 
as follows:

Agency and Public Scoping Meeting, Thursday, October 30, 2003; 7:30 
a.m. to 9:30 a.m., Optional Corridor Tour: 9:30 a.m to 11:30 a.m., 4 
Garden Center, Lower Level Conference Room, Broomfield, CO 80020.
Public Scoping Meetings, Wednesday, November 12, 2003, 4:30 p.m to 7:30 
p.m., Boulder Public Library Auditorium, 1000 Canyon Boulevard, 
Boulder, Colorado.
Thursday, November 13, 2003, 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Front Range 
Community College, Rocky Mountain Room, 3645 West 112th Avenue, 
Westminster, Colorado

Information on the time and place of the public Scoping meetings will 
be provided in the local newspapers and other media outlets.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the scope of alternatives and impacts to 
be considered should be sent to: Marion McCleary, Project 
Administrator, US 36 Mobility Partnership, c/o URS Corporation, 1225 
17th Street, Suite 200, Denver, CO 80202, 303-293-8080, Fax: 303-293-
2110, E-mail: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: [sbull] Shaun Cutting, Senior 
Operations Engineer, FHWA, Colorado Division, 555 Zang Street, Room 
250, Lakewood, CO 80228, Telephone: (303) 969-6730 extension 369.
    [sbull] Dave Beckhouse, Community Planner, FTA, 216 16th Street, 
Suite 650, Denver, CO, 80202, Telephone: (303) 844-4266.
    [sbull] Jeff Wassenaar, Colorado Department of Transportation, 
Region 6, 3401 Quebec Street, Suite 800, Denver, CO, 80207, Telephone: 
(303) 370-2052 extension 219.
    [sbull] Scott Weeks, Regional Transportation District, 1600 Blake 
Street, Denver, CO, 80202, Telephone: (303) 299-2221.
    To ensure that a full range of issues related to the 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/4(f) should be 
directed to Shaun Cutting or Dave Beckhouse at the addresses previously 
provided.
    To be placed on the public mailing list to receive additional 
project information, contact Marion McCleary at the address previously 
provided.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Scoping of Project

    The FHWA and FTA in cooperation with the Colorado Department of 
Transportation (CDOT) and the Regional Transportation District (RTD) 
will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and Section 4(f) 
Evaluation (EIS/4(f)) for transportation improvements on the US 36 
Corridor (the Corridor) between Boulder and the Interstate 25 (I-25)/US 
36 Interchange and a transit connection between Denver Union Station 
and Boulder.
    The EIS/4(f) will evaluate improvement alternatives and the No-
Action alternative based on the Purpose and Need developed for the 
corridor. Alternatives will be developed through an extensive agency 
and community outreach process. A full range of potential alignments 
and corridors will be considered for both highway and transit 
alternatives. The US 36 Corridor EIS/4(f) evaluation will result in a 
decision about which transportation projects, if any, will be built to 
improve safety and address congestion in the Corridor.

II. Description of Study Area and Project Need

    The study area for the EIS/4(f) is generally along the alignments 
of US 36 from I-25 to Boulder, SH 157/Foothills Parkway from US 36 to 
SH 119, and along the BNSF Railroad line from downtown Denver to 
Boulder. The purpose of the proposed action is to decrease congestion, 
and improve safety, access, and mobility. Original construction of US 
36 was initiated in 1951 and completed as a four-lane toll road. The 
cross section is still four lanes throughout most of the highway length 
today. During the same period, population and employment growth in

[[Page 60146]]

the areas of the corridor have substantially increased travel demands 
for longer length trips.

III. Alternatives To Be Considered

    The alternatives evaluated in the Draft EIS (DEIS) will include, 
but not be limited to, the alternatives developed in the previously 
completed US 36 Major Investment Study (MIS), June 2001. These 
alternatives consisted of Regional Rail on the BNSF alignment (also 
called Commuter Rail), Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) within the US 36 
highway, High Occupancy Vehicle Lanes (HOV) on US 36, Roadway Widening 
on US 36 and possibly cross streets, Bikeway, Travel Demand Management 
(TDM), and Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) improvements and 
transportation management elements in a roughly 25-mile-long corridor, 
parallel to and including US 36, between downtown Denver and Boulder. 
The EIS/4(f) will evaluate the use and effects of toll and other user 
fee methods of finance on the alternatives and the expected travel 
demand response from such options.
    The EIS/4(f) will also evaluate the appropriate end of line and 
associated facilities and connections into Downtown Denver to Union 
Station and in Boulder. As part of the transit evaluations, station 
locations will be studied and identified as appropriate.
    The EIS/4(f) will also fully evaluate the No-Action Alternative as 
a basis of comparison among all alternatives. Other alternatives may be 
added as a result of scoping and agency coordination efforts.

IV. Probable Effects/Potential Impacts for Analysis

    The EIS/4(f) will analyze social, economic, and environmental 
impacts of the various alternatives. Other major issues to be evaluated 
include air quality, noise, aesthetics, community cohesion impacts, and 
possible disruption of neighborhoods, businesses and commercial 
activities. The subjects and level of detail addressed in the EIS/4(f) 
will be consistent with the requirements of the joint FTA/FHWA 
environmental regulations (23 CFR part 771) and the Council on 
Environmental Quality regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508). Among other 
factors, the EIS/4(f) will evaluate the following:
    [sbull] Transportation service including future corridor capacity
    [sbull] Transit ridership and costs
    [sbull] Traffic movements and changes and associated impacts to 
local facilities
    [sbull] Community impacts such as land use, displacements, noise, 
neighborhood compatibility and aesthetics
    [sbull] Resource impacts including impacts to historic and 
archeological resources, cultural resource impacts, natural resource 
impacts including air quality, wetlands, water quality and wildlife
    The proposed impact assessment and evaluation will take into 
account both positive and negative impacts, direct and indirect 
impacts, short-term (during the construction period) and long term 
impacts, and site-specific as well as corridor wide impacts. Mitigation 
measures will be identified for any adverse environmental impacts that 
are identified.

    Issued on: October 14, 2003.
William C. Jones,
Division Administrator, Colorado Division, Federal Highway 
Administration, Lakewood, Colorado.
Lee O. Waddleton,
Regional Administrator, Federal Transit Administration, Denver, 
Colorado.
[FR Doc. 03-26510 Filed 10-20-03; 8:45 am]
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