Environmental Impact Statement: Caldwell and Guadalupe Counties, Texas

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration

Environmental Impact Statement: Caldwell and Guadalupe 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 Caldwell and Guadalupe 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 or 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 projects with each project having logical termini and independent

utility. FHWA and TTA will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement

for each of the three independent projects.

This Notice of Intent (NOI) focuses on the southern project,

Segment C, 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 C of State Highway 130. Segment C of

proposed State Highway 130 extends from the junctions of US Highway 183

and Farm-to-Market Road 1185 north of Lockhart in Caldwell County,

Texas, to Interstate Highway 10 near Seguin in Guadalupe County, Texas.

The length of Segment C varies depending on the alternative selected.

The proposed action is intended to relieve congestion on Interstate 35

by providing an alternative route for those who commute between the

metropolitan areas of Austin or San Antonio and surrounding areas as

well as drivers desiring to bypass Austin and other central Texas

cities located 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 endorsed in July 1997 by the Austin

Transportation Study Policy Advisory Committee, the metropolitan

planning organization for the Austin, Texas area.

The proposed Segment C facility is being developed as a candidate

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 ability 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 C 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 C project limits.

Impacts caused by the construction and operation of Segment C 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 storm water runoff; impacts to waters of the

United States including wetlands from right-of-way encroachment; 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 C project

were held in June and September 1997 in Seguin, Texas and in June and

September 1997 in Lockhart, Texas. At these meetings, public comments

on the proposed action and alternatives were requested.

In continuation of the scoping process for Segment C of State

Highway 130, an additional set of public meetings has been scheduled.

These meetings will be held on Wednesday, December 2, 1998, at the

Sequin Coliseum, 810 South Guadalupe Street, Sequin, Texas, and on

Tuesday, December 8, 1998, in the cafeteria of Plum Creek Elementary

School, 710 Flores Street, Lockhart, Texas. Two meeting are planned for

the convenience of those wishing to attend. TTA, and its consultants,

will present the same information at each meeting. From 6:00 to 7:00

pm, displays showing the preliminary alternative corridors will be

available for review. During this period, TTA staff 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 one or both of these

public meetings.

A public hearing will be held for the Segment C 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 Segment

C 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.)

Issued on: November 18, 1998.

Walter C. Waidelich,

District Engineer, Austin, Texas.

[FR Doc. 98-31872 Filed 11-30-98; 8:45 am]

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