Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement: Lafourche Parish, LA

Charles Bollinger
Federal Highway Administration
15 March 2017

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 49 (Wednesday, March 15, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13921-13922]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-05140]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration


Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement: Lafourche Parish, LA

AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration, Department of Transportation.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is issuing this 
notice to advise the public that a Supplemental Environmental Impact 
Statement (SEIS) will be prepared for a proposed transportation project 
in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: FHWA Joshua Cunningham, Project 
Delivery Team Leader, FHWA, 5304 Flanders Drive, Suite A, Baton Rouge, 
Louisiana 70808. Project information can be found at the LaDOTD Web 
site: www.dotd.state.la.us.
    The FHWA, in cooperation with the Louisiana Department of 
Transportation and Development (LaDOTD), will prepare a Supplemental 
Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) to the 2002 LA 1 Final EIS (FEIS) 
and 2003 Record of Decision (ROD), and the subsequent ROD revisions 
issued in 2004, 2009, and 2011 due to various design refinements. FHWA 
is preparing an SEIS because changes to the FEIS Selected Alternative's 
design, including construction of an at-grade toll facility and roadway 
approaches beyond the FEIS project limits, will result in local access 
modifications and right-of-way impacts.
    Funding limitations require phased construction of the Selected 
Alternative, which generally runs parallel and to the west of existing 
LA 1. Phase 1, fully constructed in 2011, included a two-lane bridge 
from Port Fouchon (south limit) to Leeville (north limit), a distance 
of approximately 11 miles.
    Phase 2, which has not been constructed, includes the continuation 
of the 2-lane bridge for 8.3 miles, connecting Leeville (south limit) 
to Golden Meadow (north limit). This SEIS will evaluate refinements to 
the design of the FEIS Selected Alternative at its north limit, as the 
elevated portion of LA 1 is extended and ties into existing, at-grade 
LA 3235 in Golden Meadow. This extension allows for the construction of 
an at-grade, southbound toll facility at the LA 3235 tie-in. The study 
area for the SEIS will be limited to the extended section of the FEIS 
Selected Alternative, a distance slightly less than 1 mile, and will 
not include any other portions of LA 1 previously approved as part of 
the FEIS.
    Existing LA 3235 is a four-lane roadway, with two lanes in each 
direction. The LA 1 bridge from Leeville to Golden Meadow will be 
constructed as a two-lane structure, with one lane in each direction, 
except for within the SEIS study area. Within this study area, the two 
southbound lanes of LA 3235 will merge into one southbound lane on the 
LA 1 bridge. A toll gantry will be located approximately half a mile 
from the LA 1 bridge. It will include one electronic toll lane and one 
cash lane. On the northbound side, one northbound bridge lane will join 
one northbound lane connecting existing LA 1 to LA 3235. These two 
lanes will come together to tie into the existing two northbound lanes 
of LA 3235. Tolls will be collected in the southbound direction of 
travel only.

[[Page 13922]]

    Letters describing the proposed project and soliciting comments 
will be sent to appropriate Federal, State, and local agencies, and to 
private organizations and the public who have previously expressed or 
are known to have interest in this project. Several public meetings 
will be held throughout the term of the project. The first of these 
meetings, a public scoping meeting, will be conducted to provide the 
public information about the project and an opportunity to assist in 
formulating and revising the scope of the study. The public scoping 
meetings will be scheduled in the future and will be posted to the 
LaDOTD Web site: www.dotd.state.la.us. A public hearing will also be 
held. Public notice will be given of the time and place of the meetings 
and hearing.
    To ensure that the full range of issues related to this proposed 
project are addressed and all significant issues identified, comments 
and suggestions are invited from all interested parties. Comments or 
questions concerning this proposed action and the SEIS should be 
directed to the FHWA at the address 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: February 23, 2017.
Charles ``Wes`` Bollinger,
Division Administrator, FHWA, Louisiana.
[FR Doc. 2017-05140 Filed 3-14-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-22-P