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Environmental Impact Statement: San Bernardino County, CA
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
[Federal Register: May 10, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 90)]
[Notices]
[Page 26680-26681]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr10my07-130]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Highway Administration
Environmental Impact Statement: San Bernardino County, CA
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 of its
intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the
proposed widening and realignment of State Route 58 (SR-58) Kramer
Junction Expressway from two to four lanes located between the Kern/San
Bernardino County line and a point 12.9 miles east on SR-58 in San
Bernardino County, California. This will be a gap closure project.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tay Dam, Senior Project Development
Engineer, Federal Highway Administration, 888 South Figueroa, Suite
1850, Los Angeles, CA 90017. Telephone: (213) 202-3954. Marie Petry,
California Department of Transportation District 8, 464 W. Fourth
Street, San Bernardino, CA 92401. Telephone: (909) 383-6379.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FHWA, in cooperation with the California
Department of Transportation, will prepare an EIS for the proposed
widening and realignment of SR-58 Kramer Junction Expressway in San
Bernardino County, California. This 13-mile long project would take
place entirely within San Bernardino County and is centered on the
Kramer Junction where SR-58 intersects with US-395 west of the City of
Barstow. This section of SR-58 is currently a nonstandard two-lane
highway between a four-lane freeway to the west and a four-lane
expressway to the east. The proposed project would close this gap. The
existing two-lane segment includes an at-grade signalized intersection
at SR-58/US-395 (Kramer Junction), an overhead crossing of Burlington
Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) railroad west of that intersection, and
numerous uncontrolled at-grade driveway and street access points. There
is also an at-grade railroad crossing on US-395 north of the SR-58/US-
395 intersection that slows traffic and contributes to accidents when
traffic backs up during train crossings. SR-58 is a major east-west
transportation corridor with a high percentage of truck traffic
transporting goods in and out of the state. The purpose of this project
is to provide for increased separation of slow moving vehicles, to
separate local and regional traffic, to reduce accidents, and to
eliminate the convergence of SR-58 and US-395 traffic. The project
would also provide congestion relief and improve traffic operations and
access to local services.
A preferred alternative has not been selected at this point. One No
Build (Alternative A) and three Build Alternatives (Alternatives B, C,
and D) will be addressed in the EIS document. All three proposed Build
Alternatives would increase capacity and be reclassified from a
conventional highway to an expressway. As proposed, Alternative B would
be a realignment north of the existing highway. Alternative C would be
generally along the existing highway alignment, and Alternative D would
be a realignment south of the existing highway. Furthermore,
construction of a new freeway-to-freeway interchange where SR-58
intersects with US-395 is proposed for Alternatives B, C, and D. This
new interchange would have to span the existing at-grade railroad under
Alternatives B and C, but this would not be necessary under Alternative
D because the new interchange is far enough south of the railroad. In
addition, Alternatives B and D would include a second grade separation
(overhead) structure to span the railroad further east and west,
respectively, of the proposed SR-58/US-395 interchange.
The alternatives described above will be further refined through
efforts conducted under the National Environmental Policy Act (40 CFR
parts 1500-1508, and 23 CFR part 771), the 1990 Clear Air Act
Amendments, section 404 of the Clean Water Act, Executive Order 12898
regarding environmental justice, the National Historic Preservation
Act, the Endangered Species Act, the section 4(f) of the U.S.
Department of Transportation Act, and other federal environmental
protection laws, regulations, policies, and executive orders. The EIS
will incorporate comments from the public scoping process as well as
analysis in technical studies. Other alternatives suggested during
scoping process would be considered during the development of the EIS.
The EIS will consider any additional reasonable alternatives identified
during scoping process. Letters describing the proposed action and
soliciting comments will be sent to appropriate Federal, State,
regional and local agencies, and to private organizations and citizens
who previously have expressed, or are known to have, an interest in
this project. Location and details of the
[[Page 26681]]
public scoping meeting for the proposed project will be advertised in
local newspapers and other media and will be hosted by the California
Department of Transportation, District 8.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program Number 20.205,
Highway Research, Planning and Construction. The regulations
implementing Executive Order 12372 regarding intergovernmental
consultation Federal programs and activities apply to this program.)
Issued On: May 2, 2007.
Maiser Khaled,
Director, Project Development & Environment, California Division,
Federal Highway Administration.
[FR Doc. E7-8940 Filed 5-9-07; 8:45 am]
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