Environmental Impact Statement: Strafford and Rockingham County, New Hampshire

Cynthia Vigue
Federal Highway Administration
18 January 2018

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 12 (Thursday, January 18, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Page 2721]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-00785]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration


Environmental Impact Statement: Strafford and Rockingham County, 
New Hampshire

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 a 
Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) will be prepared to 
re-evaluate a reasonable range of transportation alternatives 
associated with the General Sullivan Bridge (GSB) for maintaining 
access for pedestrians and bicyclists across Little Bay in Newington 
and Dover, New Hampshire, thereby retaining this regional connectivity 
in northern coastal New Hampshire.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Jamie Sikora, New Hampshire 
Division, Federal Highway Administration, 53 Pleasant Street, Suite 
2200, Concord, New Hampshire 03301, Telephone: (603) 410-4870. Mr. 
Kevin Nyhan, Administrator, Bureau of Environment, New Hampshire 
Department of Transportation, 7 Hazen Drive, JOM Building Room 160, 
Concord, New Hampshire 03302-0483, Telephone: (603) 271-3226.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: FHWA, in cooperation with the New Hampshire 
Department of Transportation (NHDOT), prepared a Draft EIS and Final 
EIS [NHS-027-1(37), 11238, December 2007] for proposed improvements to 
a 3.5-mile section of the Spaulding Turnpike extending north from the 
Gosling Road/Pease Boulevard Interchange (Exit 1) in the Town of 
Newington, across the Little Bay Bridges, to a point just south of the 
existing Toll Plaza in the City of Dover. Consistent with the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations, the U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, U.S. Coast Guard, Federal 
Aviation Administration, N.H. Department of Environmental Services, 
N.H. Fish and Game Department, N.H. Office of Energy and Planning, and 
N.H. Division of Historical Resources were cooperating agencies in 
preparing the Draft EIS and Final EIS.
    In October 2008, FHWA issued a Record of Decision (ROD) (FHWA-NH-
EIS-06-01-F) following the Final EIS for the Spaulding Turnpike 
Improvements Project (known as Newington-Dover Project). The ROD 
proposed to rehabilitate the GSB so that it could continue to serve as 
a connection for pedestrians and bicyclists across Little Bay and to 
provide recreational access for fishing. Following the ROD, NHDOT 
prepared a Type, Size and Location Study which, in part, provided 
additional information on the condition of the GSB and evaluated the 
feasibility of rehabilitating the bridge. Based upon the results of the 
study, NHDOT determined that it was necessary and reasonable to 
consider alternatives to the proposed rehabilitation.
    On August 17, 2017, NHDOT requested that FHWA reopen the FEIS for a 
specific review of alternatives for the GSB and, on September 5, 2017, 
FHWA responded in support of NHDOT's request to re-evaluate the 
reasonable range of transportation alternatives associated with the GSB 
for maintaining access for pedestrians and bicyclists across Little 
Bay.
    FHWA is initiating a limited scope SEIS pursuant to 23 CFR 771.130 
and 40 CFR 1502.9 to evaluate additional alternatives for the 
Newington-Dover Project; specifically, evaluating the social, economic 
and environmental effects of reasonable transportation alternatives for 
maintaining access for pedestrians and bicyclists across the Little Bay 
in Newington and Dover, New Hampshire, thereby retaining a regional 
connection in northeastern coastal New Hampshire. Since issues and 
concerns related to the broader Newington-Dover Project are well known 
and reported in the Draft and Final EIS, formal scoping will not be 
conducted.
    FHWA will be inviting agencies to become cooperating or 
participating agencies for the SEIS, including agencies that may have 
not been cooperating or participating agencies for the Draft and Final 
EIS. In addition, FHWA and NHDOT will invite participation from tribes, 
organizations and individuals on the SEIS. Written and verbal comments 
on the Draft SEIS will be taken by email, through the project website 
http://www.newington-dover.com/gsb_subsite/index.html, at public 
informational meetings and hearing. Public notice will be given on the 
time and location of these meetings.

(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: January 8, 2018.
Cynthia Vigue,
Assistant Division Administrator, Federal Highway Administration, 
Concord, New Hampshire.
[FR Doc. 2018-00785 Filed 1-17-18; 8:45 am]
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