Environmental Impact Statement: Bellevue, King County, WA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration

Environmental Impact Statement: Bellevue, King County, WA

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

NEPA/SEPA environmental impact statement (EIS) will be prepared for a

proposed SR 520 Improved Access Project, located between I-405 and

148th Avenue NE in the City of Bellevue, King County, Washington. The

EIS will evaluate alternatives and the associated environmental impacts

to provide additional access to and from the east on SR 520 to service

the commercial/light industrial area south of SR 520.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gene K. Fong, Division Administrator,

Federal Highway Administration, Evergreen Plaza Building, 711 South

Capitol Way, Suite 501, Olympia, Washington, 98501, Telephone: (360)

753-9413; John Okamoto, Regional Administrator, Washington State

Department of Transportation, Northwest Region, 15700 Dayton Avenue

North, Seattle, Washington 98133-9710, Telephone (206) 440-4691; Kim

Becklund, Project Development Coordinator, City of Bellevue, PO Box

90012, Bellevue, Washington 98009-9012, Telephone (425) 637-6145.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FHWA, in cooperation with the City of

Bellevue and the Washington State Department of Transportation,

proposes to improve access to and from the east on SR 520 between

Interstate 405 and west of 148th Avenue NE while maintaining adequate

freeway traffic operations and safety and minimizing adverse impacts to

businesses and residential neighborhoods. The project would address the

need for improved mobility for regional vehicle trips. Level of

service, average vehicle delay, queue length, travel speed, and traffic

redistribution will be used as measures of effectiveness.

The proposed project is consistent with the current City of

Bellevue's Comprehensive Plan and the 1986 Bel-Red Overlake

Transportation Study (BROTS) as adopted by the City of Bellevue in

1988. Growth along the SR 520 corridor has increased traffic conjestion

within the study area to exceed the traffic conjestion forecast in the

BROTS. Future development in the corridor is expected to create even

greater congestion on the transportation network.

To address congestion and maintain an acceptable level of service,

as much as practicable, the BROTS recommended providing additional

access to and from SR 520 within two general areas: (1) Between I-405

and west of 148th Avenue NE, and (2) between east of 148th Avenue NE

and NE 51st Street. For area 2 above, access needs on SR 520 east of

148th Avenue NE are satisfied with the interchange soon to be

constructed at NE 40th Street.

To meet the BROTS recommendation for area 1, in addition to the no

action alternative, at least four alternatives relating to new access

ramps to serve traffic to and from the east on SR 520 are under

consideration in the vicinity of 124th Avenue NE, 130th Avenue NE,

136th Avenue NE, and 140th Avenue NE. Other alternatives identified

during the scoping process would also be considered.

The EIS will evaluate alternatives based on their ability to (1)

satisfy anticipated access needs between SR 520 and the commercial/

light-industrial area south of SR 520 while maintaining adequate

freeway operations, and (2) minimize impacts to nearby residential and

business neighborhoods.

Environmental issues of concern identified to date include

potential impacts to air quality, noise, and changes to community

character.

Letters describing the proposed action and soliciting comments will

be sent to appropriate Federal, State and local agencies, affected

Native American tribes, and private organizations and citizens who have

previously expressed or are known to have interest in this proposal.

Public pre-scoping open houses were held on December 3rd, 1996, and

January 7, 1997. An agency scoping meeting will be held on June 24th,

1997, to solicit agency input. No other scoping meetings have been

scheduled. Comments from the public and agencies regarding the scope

and significance of issues to be addressed and alternatives to be

evaluated in the EIS are requested by July 24th, 1997. Following the

circulation of the draft EIS, an open house and public hearing will be

held to receive comments on the draft EIS. The draft EIS will be

available for agency and public review and comment at the public

hearing and for at least 15 days prior to the public hearing. Public

notice will be given regarding timing of the public scoping comments

period, the public open houses, the EIS hearings, the availability of

the draft and final EIS's and the issue of the Record of Decision.

To assure 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, or requests to

be added to the mailing list, should be directed to the FHWA, the

WSDOT, or the City of Bellevue at the corresponding address provided

above.

[[Page 27834]]

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 20.205, Highway

Research, Planning and Construction. The regulations implementing

Executive Order 12372 regarding intergovernmental consultation on

Federal programs and activities apply to this program)

Issued on: May 9, 1997.

Jose M. Miranda,

Environmental Program Manager, Olympia, Washington.

[FR Doc. 97-13308 Filed 5-20-97; 8:45 am]

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