[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 186 (Tuesday, September 27, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56523-56524]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-19230]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration

Federal Transit Administration


Environmental Impact Statement; Portland, OR and Vancouver/Clark 
County, WA

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

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

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SUMMARY: The Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit 
Administration are issuing this notice to advise the public that an 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will be prepared for proposed 
highway and transit improvements in the Interstate 5 Columbia River 
Crossing (CRC) corridor between the Portland, Oregon and Vancouver/
Clark County, Washington area.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steve Saxton, Area Engineer, Federal 
Highway Administration, Washington Division at 360-753-9411, Jeff 
Graham, Operations Engineer, Federal Highway Administration, Oregon 
Division at 503-587-4727 and from Linda Gehrke, Deputy Regional 
Administrator, Federal Transit Administration, at 206-220-4463.
    Public information contact: Amy Echols, CRC Communications Manager, 
Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) at 360-737-2726 
or [email protected].
    Agency Coordination contact: Heather Gundersen, CRC Environmental 
Manager, Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), at 360-737-2726 or 
[email protected].
    Additional information on the Columbia River Crossing Project can 
also be found on the project Web site at http://
www..columbiarivercrossing.org.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Proposed Action Background

    The FHWA and FTA, as Federal co-lead agencies, the Washington State 
Department of Transportation (WSDOT), Oregon Department of 
Transportation (ODOT), Southwest Washington Regional Transportation 
Council (RTC), Metropolitan Service District (Metro), Clark County 
Public Transportation Benefit Area Authority (C-TRAN), and Tri-County 
Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet), will prepare 
an environmental impact statement (EIS) on proposed highway and transit 
improvements in the I-5 Columbia River Crossing corridor between the 
Portland, Oregon and Vancouver/Clark County, Washington area. The 
Columbia River Crossing study area generally encompasses the I-5 
corridor from the I-5/I-405 interchange in Portland, Oregon in the 
south to the I-5/I-205 merge in Clark County, Washington in the north.
    The existing I-5 crossing of the Columbia River is two side-by-side 
bridges, built in 1917 and 1958. In 1982 another river crossing--the 
Interstate 205 Glenn Jackson Bridge--opened approximately six miles to 
the east. Together, the two crossings connect the greater Portland-
Vancouver region, carrying over 260,000 trips across the Columbia River 
daily. Growth in the region's population and border-to-border commerce 
is straining the capacity of the two crossings. This has resulted in 
trip diversion, unmet travel demand and hours of daily congestion that 
stalls commuters and delay freight, adversely affecting interstate 
traffic and commerce.
    In 1998, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) 
and Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) formed a bi-state 
partnership to study transportation and potential solutions in the I-5 
Columbia River Crossing corridor. ODOT and WSDOT engaged local 
jurisdictions and agencies, businesses, neighborhoods, and interest 
groups in Washington and Oregon to plan and implement improvements 
along the I-5 corridor between the Portland metropolitan area and 
Vancouver in southern Clark County, Washington. Two studies resulted 
from this initial work: the Portland/Vancouver I-5 Trade Corridor 
Freight Feasibility and Needs Assessment Study Final Report, completed 
in 2000, and the Portland/Vancouver I-5 Transportation and Trade 
Partnership Final Strategic Plan, completed in 2002. This bi-state work 
included a variety of recommendations for corridor-wide improvements, 
traffic management and improvements in the I-5 Bridge Influence Area 
(BIA)--an approximately 5-mile section of the I-5 corridor extending 
from the SR 500 interchange north of the river to Columbia Boulevard 
south of the river.
    Other significant transportation studies in the corridor include 
the South/North Major Investment Study (MIS) Final Report (1995) and 
the South/North Corridor Project Draft EIS (1998). These studies 
investigated a variety of high capacity transit corridors and modes 
between the Portland, Oregon area and Vancouver/Clark County, 
Washington.
    Building on the previous studies, the I-5 Transportation and Trade 
Partnership Strategic Plan (2002), called for adding capacity over the 
Columbia River with a replacement bridge or by supplementing existing 
I-5 bridges to ease impacts of bottlenecks on local travel and 
interstate commerce. Another recommendation called for considering 
high-capacity transit improvements in the area of the I-5 Interstate 
Bridge over the Columbia River. The studies also stressed looking at a 
range of financing options, increasing general purpose lane capacity to 
three lanes where there are currently two at Delta Park and ensuring 
that low-income and minority populations within the corridor are 
involved in planning. ODOT is undertaking an Environmental Assessment 
at Delta Park. The Columbia River Crossing Project will study thse 
recommendations as well as others associated with the Bridge Influence 
Area.

Alternatives

    A reasonable range of alternatives, including those identified in 
the Portland/Vancouver I-5 Transportation and Trade Partnership Final 
Strategic Plan and the South/North Corridor Project Draft EIS, will be 
considered. The EIS will include a range of highway and transit build 
alternatives, as well as a No-Build Alternative.

Probable Effects

    FHWA, FTA, WSDOT, ODOT, RTC, Metro, C-TRAN, and TriMet will

[[Page 56524]]

evaluate significant transportation, environmental, social, and 
economic impacts of the alternatives. Potential areas of impact 
include: support of state, regional, and local land use and 
transportation plans and policies, neighborhoods, land use and 
economics, cultural resources, environmental justice, and natural 
resources. All impacts will be evaluated for both the construction 
period and the long-term period of operation. Measures to avoid, 
minimize and mitigate any significant impacts will be developed.

Scoping Process

    Agency Coordination: The project sponsors are working with the 
local, state and federal resource agencies to implement regular 
opportunities for coordination during the National Environmental Policy 
Act (NEPA) process. This process will comply with SAFETEA-LU Section 
6002.
    Tribal Coordination: The formal Tribal government consultation will 
occur through government-to-government collaboration.
    Public Meetings: Three public information meetings will be held in 
October 2005, including:
     Saturday, October 22, 2005, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., at the Jantzen 
Beach Super Center (central mall area), 1405 Jantzen Beach Center, 
Portland, Oregon;
     Tuesday, October 25, 2005, 4 p.m.-8 p.m., at Clark 
College, Gaiser Hall, 1800 E. McLoughlin Blvd., Vancover, Washington 
98663; and
     Thursday, October 27, 2005, 4 p.m.-8 p.m., at OAME (Oregon 
Association of Minority Enterpreneurs) Main Conference Room, 4134 N. 
Vancouver St. (at N. Skidmore St.), Portland, OR 97211.
    All public information meeting locations are accessible to persons 
with disabilities. Any individual who requires special assistance, such 
as a sign language interpreter, should contact Amy Echols, CRC 
Communications Manager at 360-737-2726 or 
[email protected] at least 48-hours in advance of the 
meeting in order for WSDOT or ODOT to make necessary arrangement.
    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 interested parties. Comments or 
questions concerning this proposal will be accepted at the public 
meetings or can be sent to the Columbia River Crossing project office 
at 700 Washington Street, Suite 222, Vancouver, WA 98660 or to Heather 
Gundersen at [email protected]

(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 20, 2005.
Steve Saxton,
Area Engineer, Washington Division, Federal Highway Administration.
Linda M. Gehre,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 10, Federal Transit 
Administration.
[FR Doc. 05-19230 Filed 9-26-05; 8:45 am]
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