Environmental Impact Statement: Travis and Caldwell Counties, Texas

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration

Environmental Impact Statement: Travis and Caldwell Counties,

Texas

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 an

Environmental Impact Statement will be prepared for a proposed new

location highway/tollway project in Travis and Caldwell Counties,

Texas.

for further information contact: Walter C. Waidelich, District

Engineer, Federal Highway Administration, Room 850, Federal Building,

300 East 8th Street, Austin Texas 78701. David Kopp, P.E., Texas

Turnpike Authority Division, Texas Department of Transportation, 125 E.

11th Street, Austin, Texas 78701-2483.

supplementary information: State Highway 130, as currently envisioned,

is a proposed controlled access highway which will extend from IH 35 at

State Highway 195 north of Georgetown in Williamson County, Texas, to

IH 10 near Seguin in Guadalupe County, Texas. State Highway 130 will be

located generally parallel to and east of Interstate Highway 35 and the

urban areas of Austin, San Marcos, and New Braunfels. The total length

of the proposed facility is 143.5 kilometers (89 miles). The proposed

State Highway 130 facility is being developed by the FHWA in

cooperation with the Texas Turnpike Authority Division (TTA) of the

Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). It is being developed in

three segments with each segment having logical termini and independent

utility. FHWA and TTA will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement

for each of the three independent segments.

This Notice of Intent (NOI) focuses on the central segment, Segment

B, of State Highway 130. As announced herein, the FHWA in cooperation

with TTA will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement on a proposal

to construct Segment B of State Highway 130. Segment B of proposed

State Highway 130 extends from US Highway 290 east of Austin in Travis

County, Texas, to the junction of US Highway 183 and Farm-to-Market

Road 1185 north of Lockhart in Caldwell County, Texas. The length of

Segment B is approximately 46.67 kilometers (29 miles) but will varies

depending on the selected alternative. The proposed action is intended

to relieve congestion on Interstate 35 by providing an alternative

route for those who commute between Austin and surrounding areas as

well as drivers desiring to bypass the central business area of Austin

and other cities along the heavily traveled Interstate 35 corridor. The

proposed action will also provide improved access and increased

mobility to urbanized areas in the proposed corridor; help support

planned business and residential growth in various areas throughout the

project corridor; and provide needed freeway access from surrounding

areas to the proposed Austin Bergstrom International Airport.

A Major Investment Study, addressing the entire length of the

proposed State Highway 130, was adopted in July 1997 by the Austin

Transportation Study Policy Advisory Committee, the metropolitan

planning organization for the Austin, Texas area.

As currently envisioned the proposed Segment B facility will be a

controlled access toll road; thus, in conjunction with the EIS and

selection of a preferred alternative, the TTA will conduct a toll

feasibility study to evaluate the viability of developing the selected

alternative as a toll road and financing it, in whole or part, through

the issuance of revenue bonds. The toll road designation will not

influence the selection of a preferred alternative. Proposed

alternatives, including alternative alignments, will be evaluated for

how well they meet the stated purpose and need for the proposed

project. Any impacts owing to the toll road designation will be

discussed in the environmental impact statement.

The draft EIS for Segment B will address a build alternative

including multiple alternative alignments. Alternatives to the proposed

action, which will also be discussed in the EIS, will include (1)

taking no action, or the ``no build'' alternative, and (2) improving

existing roadways in the project area. The build alternatives include

multiple alternative alignments along new location and existing highway

rights-of-way within the Segment B project limits.

Impacts caused by the construction and operation of Segment B of

State Highway 130 will vary according to the alternative alignment

utilized. Generally, impacts would include the following:

transportation impacts (construction detours, construction traffic, and

mobility improvement); air and noise impacts from construction and

operation of the roadway; water quality impacts from construction

activities and roadway stormwater runoff; impacts to waters of the

United States, including wetlands, from right-of-way encroachment;

conversion of dedicated parkland; and impacts to residences and

businesses.

Letters describing the proposed action and soliciting comments have

been sent to appropriate Federal, State, and local agencies, and to

private organizations and citizens who have previously expressed

interest in the proposal. Public meetings for the Segment B project

were held on April 15, 1996, at Del Valle High School in Del Valle,

Texas; on April 16, 1996, at Barbara Jordan Elementary School in

Austin, Texas; on June 11, 1996, at Plum Creek Elementary School in

Lockhart, Texas; and on June 26, 1997, at Barbara Jordan Elementary

School in Austin, Texas. At these meetings, public comments on the

proposed action and alternatives were requested.

In continuation of the scoping process for Segment B of State

Highway 130, an additional public meeting will be held on November 5,

1998. The location of the public meeting will be at Barbara Jordan

Elementary School, 6711 Johnny Morris Road, Austin, Texas. From 6:00 to

7:00 pm, displays showing the preliminary alternative corridors will be

available for review. During this period, staff of the TTA will be

available to answer questions. Beginning at 7:00 pm a formal

presentation of the project will be made and will be followed by a

public comment period. All interested persons are encouraged to attend

the public meeting.

A public hearing will be held for the Segment B project subsequent

to publication of the Draft EIS. Public notice will be given of the

time and place of the hearing. The Draft EIS will be available for

public and agency review and comment prior to the public hearing.

To ensure that the full range of issues related to proposed

Segement B of State Highway 130 are addressed and all significant

issues identified, comments and suggestions are invited from all

parties. Comments or questions concerning this proposed action and the

EIS should be directed to the FHWA or TTA at the addresses provided

above.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program 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.)

Walter C. Waidelich,

District Engineer, Austin, Texas.

[FR Doc. 98-26480 Filed 10-1-98; 8:45 am]

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