[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 172 (Tuesday, September 7, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54176-54177]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-20214]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration


Environmental Impact Statement: Riverside County, CA

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 of its 
intent to prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for a proposed 
realignment of State Route 79, from Domenigoni Parkway to Gilman 
Springs Road, in the cities of Hemet and San Jacinto, the community of 
Winchester and unincorporated Riverside, County, California.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tay Dam, Senior Project Development 
Engineer, Federal highway Administration, 888 South Figueroa, Suite 
1850, Los Angeles, California, 90017. Telephone: (213) 202-3954. E-
mail: [email protected] (and) Hideo Sugita, Deputy Executive 
Director, Riverside County Transportation Commission, P.O. Box 12008, 
Riverside, California 92502-2208. Telephone: (951) 787-7141. E-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FHWA, in cooperation with the California 
Department of Transportation, District 8, and the Riverside County 
Transportation Commission, will prepare an Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) to realign State Route (SR) 79 1.2 miles south of 
Domenigoni Parkway to Gilman Sprints Road. The proposed realignment 
corridor to be evaluated is located east of the existing SR 79, through 
the community of Winchester, and west of the existing route as it 
passes through Hemet and San Jacinto.
    A range of alignment alternatives will be analyzed in the EIS/EIR. 
Alignment alternatives in the western, central and eastern portions of 
the project area were identified through an alternatives analysis 
process described in detail in the Project Criteria and Alternatives 
Selection for Preliminary Agreement, dated June 22, 2004. These 
alignment alternatives will be analyzed. The western alignment begins 
at the southern project limit along Winchester Road, approximately 1.2 
miles south of Domenigoni Parkway. It continues north, crossing 
Domenigoni Parkway and Salt Creek Channel, 0.5 mile east of Winchester 
Road. The alignment then turns east and parallels Florida Avenue on the 
south before turning north, paralleling and then crossing the San Diego 
Canal near Esplanade Avenue. North of Esplanade Avenue, the western 
alignment continues in a northeast direction and splits into two (2) 
potential alignments, one following Odell Avenue and one paralleling 
the Casa Loma Canal, before reconnecting immediately south of the 
intersection of Sanderson Avenue and North Ramona Boulevard. The 
western alignment then continues north on Sanderson Avenue and crosses 
Ramona Expressway to the San Jacinto River.
    The central alignment begins at the southern project limit along 
Winchester Road and continues in a northeast direction crossing 
Domenigoni Parkway and continuing east, paralleling Salt Creek Channel. 
It then travels north, east of the San Diego Canal. North of Devonshire 
Avenue, the central alignment will occur on top of Warren Road, west of 
Tres Cerritos Hills to Seventh Street. The alignment then heads 
northeast to parallel the Casa Loma Canal to Sanderson Avenue. Then the 
central alignment continues north, east of Sanderson Avenue, crosses 
Ramona Expressway to the northern project limit immediately south of 
San Jacinto River. The eastern alignment begins at the southern project 
limit along Winchester Road and continues north, turning northeast 
after crossing the Salt Creek Channel. The alignment continues 
northeast paralleling the railroad tracks until Sanderson Avenue. 
Northeast of the Hemet-Ryan Airport, the eastern alignment turns north 
in the vicinity of Sanderson Avenue. The alignment continues north 
along Sanderson Avenue and crosses Ramona Expressway to the San Jacinto 
River.
    The above-described alignment alternatives will be further refined 
through efforts conducted under the National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA)/Section 404 of the Clean Water Act Memorandum of Understanding 
integrating the two processes, incorporating comments from the public 
scoping process, as well as analysis in technical studies. In addition 
to the build alternatives, a no-build alternative also will be analyzed 
in the EIS as required by NEPA. Letters describing the proposed action 
and soliciting comments will be sent to appropriate Federal, State and 
local agencies, and to private organizations and citizens who 
previously have expressed, or are

[[Page 54177]]

known to have, an interest in this project. A scoping meeting will be 
held for this project in Hemet on Wednesday, September 29, 2004, at the 
James Simpson Memorial Center, 305 East Devonshire Avenue, beginning at 
6:30 p.m. and in San Jacinto on Wednesday, October 6, 2004, at the San 
Jacinto Unified School District conference room, 2045 San Jacinto 
Avenue, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Project documents and information are 
available for review on the project Web site located at: http://www.sr79project.info. The Web site contains project information and 
will be updated as the project progresses.
    To ensure that the full range of issues and alternatives related to 
this proposed action are addressed and all significant issues are 
identified, comments and suggestions are invited from interested 
parties. Comments or questions concerning this proposed action and the 
Draft 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: August 31, 2004.
Maiser Khaled,
Director, Project Development & Environment, Federal Highway 
Administration, Sacramento, California.
[FR Doc. 04-20214 Filed 9-3-04; 8:45 am]
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