Notice To Rescind a Notice of Intent for an Environmental Impact Statement for the State Route 95 Realignment Study: Interstate 40 to State Route 68, Mohave County, Arizona

Karla S. Petty
Federal Highway Administration
September 10, 2015

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 175 (Thursday, September 10, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Page 54655]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-22871]



[[Page 54655]]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration


Notice To Rescind a Notice of Intent for an Environmental Impact 
Statement for the State Route 95 Realignment Study: Interstate 40 to 
State Route 68, Mohave County, Arizona

AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Department of 
Transportation.

ACTION: Notice to rescind a Notice of Intent for an Environmental 
Impact Statement.

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SUMMARY: A Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) was published in the Federal Register on June 1, 2007. 
A revised NOI was published on December 23, 2013 to advise that the 
review process was being changed to a tiered process in which a Tier 1 
EIS would be prepared to evaluate potential corridors for a future 
project-specific alignment. The FHWA is issuing this notice to advise 
the public that FHWA and the Arizona Department of Transportation 
(ADOT) will no longer prepare a Tier 1 EIS for the proposed realignment 
of State Route (SR) 95 from Interstate 40 (I-40) to SR 68 in Mohave 
County, Arizona because funding to complete improvements in the 
foreseeable future is not available.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
    Alan Hansen, Team Leader, Planning, Environment, Air Quality, and 
Realty, Federal Highway Administration, 4000 North Central Avenue, 
Suite 1500, Phoenix, AZ 85012-3500, Telephone: (602) 382-8964, Email: 
alan.hansen@dot.gov.
    Ammon Heier, Area Engineer, Federal Highway Administration, 4000 
North Central Avenue, Suite 1500, Phoenix, AZ 85012-3500, Telephone: 
(602) 382-8983, Email: ammon.heier@dot.gov.
    The FHWA Arizona Division Office's normal business hours are 8 a.m. 
to 5 p.m. (Mountain Standard Time).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 1, 2007, the FHWA, in cooperation 
with ADOT, issued an NOI titled: Environmental Impact Statement: Mohave 
County, AZ'' (Federal Register Vol. 72, No. 105). The intent of the 
project was to realign SR 95 beginning approximately two miles south of 
I-40 and extending north to SR 68 for a distance of approximately 42 
miles. The reconstruction of SR 95 was considered necessary to provide 
for an access-controlled highway to facilitate regional traffic flow 
and reduce traffic congestion. The project was issued a Federal Aid 
Number STP-095-D (AMS) and an ADOT project number 095 MO 200 H6801 03L.
    A No-Build Alternative and at least two different alignments for 
potential relocation and development of the highway as a limited access 
facility located east of the existing SR 95 highway were under 
consideration. The No-Build Alternative served as the baseline for the 
analysis conducted under the National Environmental Policy Act.
    On December 23, 2013, FHWA revised the NOI to announce that FHWA 
and the project sponsor, ADOT, intended to use a tiered process (as 
provided for in 40 Code of Federal Regulations 1508.28 and in 
accordance with FHWA guidance) in the completion of the environmental 
study to facilitate project decision-making. A Tier 1 EIS was initiated 
to focus on the evaluation of corridors rather than alignments because 
sufficient funding to implement, operate, and maintain the proposed 
project had not yet been committed in the fiscally-constrained State 
Transportation Improvement Program.
    The State's limited resources combined with the fact that no 
improvements can be budgeted in the foreseeable future does not justify 
continuing to study improvements to a corridor that cannot be 
implemented when the study is eventually completed. As such, the 
preparation of the EIS for the realignment of SR 95: I-40 to SR 68 is 
being terminated. Any future transportation improvements or realignment 
of SR 95 will be determined and prioritized through ADOT's Long-Range 
Transportation Plan and 5-Year Transportation Facilities Construction 
Program, and any future actions will progress under a separate 
environmental review process, in accordance with all applicable laws 
and regulations.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program Number 20.205, 
Highway Planning and Construction. The regulations implementing 
Executive Order 12372 regarding intergovernmental consultation on 
Federal programs and activities apply to this program.)


    Issued on: September 2, 2015.
Karla S. Petty,
Arizona Division Administrator, Federal Highway Administration, 
Phoenix, AZ.
[FR Doc. 2015-22871 Filed 9-9-15; 8:45 am]
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