Intent to Prepare a Supplement to the Final Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT) Circumferential Highway ProjectNashua, Hudson, Litchfield, and Merrimack, New Hampshire

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers

Intent to Prepare a Supplement to the Final Environmental Impact

Statement (SEIS) for the New Hampshire Department of Transportation

(NHDOT) Circumferential Highway Project--Nashua, Hudson, Litchfield,

and Merrimack, New Hampshire

AGENCY: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.

ACTION: Notice of Intent.

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SUMMARY: The New England District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

announces its intent to prepare a Supplement to the Final Environmental

Impact Statement (SEIS) for the New Hampshire Department of

Transportation (NHDOT) Circumferential Highway Project-Nashua, Hudson,

Litchfield, and Merrimack, New Hampshire. The Corps of Engineers will

be evaluating a permit application for the proposed work under section

404 of the Clean Water Act.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the proposed action

and the SEIS should be addressed to Mr. Frank DelGiudice, Senior

Project Manager, New England District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,

696 Virginia Road, Concord, MA 01742-2751. Phone: (978) 318-8832.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

1. The Nashua-Hudson region of southern New Hampshire is

experiencing rapid population and economic growth which necessitates

the expansion of the region's transportation system. The construction

of a By-Pass Highway around Nashua's northeast quadrant is proposed to

provide relief for existing and projected highway capacity deficiencies

and to enhance traffic flow in the area. Various social, economic, and

environmental impacts will occur and were documented for a Full Build

Circumferential Highway in the Final Environmental Impact Statement

(FEIS) published in October 1993. The applicant is proposing to proceed

with a Partial Build including the northern segment from NH route 111

in the Town of Hudson northerly and westerly to an improved section of

the FE Everett Turnpike in the Town of Merrimack. The Army Corps of

Engineers will have to decide whether and under what circumstances to

grant a Federal permit for the proposed Partial Build work. Therefore

we have decided to prepare an SEIS to aid in agency decision making and

to assure compliance with the National

[[Page 17645]]

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Evaluation and documentation of

impacts to historic, archaeological, public park, and recreation areas

will be prepared in conformance with Section 4(f) of the U.S.

Department of Transportation Act.

2. That FEIS did not completely document impacts of a Partial

Build, therefore a Supplement to the FEIS will be prepared to insure

major issues associated with the Partial Build alternative have been

identified. Due to the time elapsed since release of the FEIS,

potential changes in transportation patterns and existing environmental

conditions, the SEIS will include updates to the existing conditions

information contained in the FEIS.

3. Proposed Action: The Partial Build project proposed by the

applicant is a 7.50 mile long section of the previously studied 12 mile

long 4-lane limited access circumferential highway. It is to be built

on a new alignment located primarily easterly and northerly of the City

of Nashua forming an arc around the central business districts of

Nashua and Hudson. As documented in the FEIS, Alternative 9 was defined

for the Full Build which was a combination of sections of other

alternatives. The proposed Partial Build of Alternative 9 begins at NH

Route 111 in the center of Hudson running northerly and then westerly

through Litchfield, crossing the Merrimack River and returning to the

FE Everett Turnpike at a new Exit 9 in Merrimack. The interchange at

Exit 9 will include improvements to the FE Everett Turnpike in that

section. The purpose of the proposed Partial Build is to add a new

crossing of the Merrimack River north of the existing crossings

connecting Nashua and Hudson to assist east-west traffic movements in

the central and northern greater Nashua region. Should other reasonable

and practicable alternatives arise out of the scoping process they too

will be evaluated.

4. Alternatives: In the FEIS various alternative alignments were

considered to reduce traffic in the region, particularly in the Central

Business Districts of Nashua and Hudson. In addition to these

alignments, No Action and Transportation System Management/

Transportation Demand Management (TSM/TDM) alternatives were

considered. Based on the consideration of the impacts presented and

public input, Alternative 9 was defined for the Full Build which was a

combination of other alternatives. The FEIS information separated the

highway into a southern and northern segment.

a. The Southern Segment: A 0.75 mile section of the Southern

Segment is currently being constructed as a connection from NH Route 3-

A in southern Hudson to the new Exit 2 of the FE Everett Turnpike in

southern Nashua. The remainder of the Southern Segment from NH Route 3-

A to NH Route 111 is not being proposed as part of the project.

b. The Northern Segment: A 7.5 mile section from NH Route 111 in

Hudson northerly and westerly to the FE Everett Turnpike in Merrimack

has been defined which consists of four linked sections that have

individual as well as additive benefits. The sections are: (1) From the

FE Everett Turnpike, proposed Exit 9 southerly and easterly to US Route

3, Daniel Webster Highway in Merrimack; (2) from US Route 3, DW Highway

in Merrimack, crossing the Merrimack River, easterly to NH Route 3-A in

Litchfield; (3) from NH Route 3-A easterly to NH Route 102 in

Litchfield; and (4) from NH Route 3-A in Litchfield southerly to NH

Route 111 in Hudson.

c. No Action Alternative: Under the No Action Alternative, the

traffic will continue to use the existing street and highway network.

d. The TSM/TDM Alternative: The purpose of studying the TSM/TDM

alternative in the FEIS was to encourage maximum utilization and energy

efficiency of the existing transportation system. Many projects have

been implemented in the region for purposes of TSM and TDM

improvements.

5. Scoping process:

a. Public meetings were conducted during the period of June 1990 to

July 1992 introducing the Full Build project and soliciting comments.

The Corps of Engineers has held a preliminary coordination meeting with

Federal and State agencies to identify issues of concern to be studied

in the SEIS.

b. The opportunity for public comment will occur at three times

during the SEIS process. The first set of public meetings will be the

Scoping/Kick-off Meeting Workshops held in each impacted municipality

in May 1999. The second opportunity will be at Public Informational

workshops held in each municipality for purposes of informal comment on

the Draft SEIS in the fall 1999. The third opportunity will be at the

Public Hearing held by the Corps of Engineers immediately following the

Public Informational Workshops in the fall of 1999.

c. It is anticipated that the following agencies will continue to

accept Cooperating Agency status for the SEIS study:

(1) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

(2) U.S. Department of Interior--Fish and Wildlife Service.

(3) U.S. Department of Transportation--Federal Highway

Administration.

(4) U.S. Department of Agriculture--Natural Resource Conservation

Service.

d. The SEIS will analyze the potential social, economic, and

environmental impacts to the region resulting from the proposed Partial

Build. The study will include analysis of the updated existing traffic

conditions and projections of the Partial Build and related impacts to

air quality, noise, water quality, and wetlands. Construction and

operational phase impacts of the four sections will be considered as

well as cumulative and secondary impact. The SEIS will include the

evaluation and documentation of impacts to historic, archeological,

public park, and recreation areas will be prepared in conformance with

Section 4(f) of the U.S. Department of Transportation Act.

6. Scoping Kick-off Meetings: The Corps of Engineers in

coordination with NHDOT plans to hold four individual Scoping Kick-off

Meeting Workshops in each of the affected municipalities. These

workshops will be conducted with an open forum format and held at the

following locations from 4:00 to 8:00 PM:

a. Tuesday, May 4, 1999--Griffen Memorial School, Litchfield, NH.

b. Thursday, May 6, 1999--Town Hall Court Room, Merrimack, NH.

c. Tuesday, May 11, 1999--Alvirne High School, Hudson, NH.

d. Thursday, May 13, 1999--City Hall Auditorium, Nashua, NH.

All interested agencies, organizations and publics are invited to

attend this meeting. Sufficient local notification will be provided.

7. Availability: It is anticipated that the Draft SEIS would be

made available for review in October 1999. The Final SEIS on this

permit action is anticipated in late 1999.

Gregory D. Showalter,

Army Federal Register Liaison Officer.

[FR Doc. 99-8958 Filed 4-9-99; 8:45 am]

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