Notice of Intent To Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement: Milwaukee County

Topics:  Interstate Highway System

Bethaney L. Bacher-Gresock
Federal Highway Administration
15 June 2021

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 113 (Tuesday, June 15, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31782-31783]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-12481]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration


Notice of Intent To Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact 
Statement: Milwaukee County

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 for 
a proposed freeway corridor improvement project on I-94 in Milwaukee 
County, Wisconsin.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bethaney Bacher-Gresock, Environmental 
Program and Project Specialist, FHWA Wisconsin Division Office, City 
Center West, 525 Junction Road, Suite 8000, Madison, WI 53717; email 
bethaney.bacher-gresock@dot.gov; telephone: (608) 662-2119. Joshua 
LeVeque, Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) Project 
Manager, WisDOT SE-Region Office, 141 NW Barstow Street, P.O. Box 798, 
Waukesha, WI 53188 email joshua.leveque@dot.wi.gov; telephone: (414) 
750-1468.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FHWA, in cooperation with the Wisconsin 
Department of Transportation (WisDOT), will prepare a SEIS in 
accordance with 23 CFR 771.130 for proposed improvements along 
approximately 3.5 miles of I-94 (70th Street-16th Street) in Milwaukee 
County, WI. The project includes the following interchanges: 68th 
Street/70th Street, Hawley Road, Mitchell Boulevard, the Stadium 
Interchange (I-94/WIS 175/Miller Park Way), 35th Street, and 25th/26th/
28th Street. The Bluemound Road/Wisconsin Avenue/Wells Street 
interchange with WIS 175 is also included. The purpose of the project 
remains the same as the original EIS: To address the deteriorated 
condition of I-94, obsolete roadway and bridge design, existing and 
future traffic demand, and high crash rates. The SEIS will evaluate and 
provide additional analysis, if needed, on any new or changed impacts 
to the human and natural environment since the approval of the January 
29, 2016 final EIS (FEIS). For example, potential changes in study area 
traffic patterns resulting from the pandemic, or potential changes in 
traffic patterns resulting from the construction of, or may result 
from, the identification of funding for transportation projects 
identified in the regional transportation improvement plan for the 
area. Also, as identified in the original EIS, FHWA and WisDOT propose 
funding for the Milwaukee County East-West Bus Rapid Transit project as 
traffic mitigation during the construction of the I-94 project.
    The SEIS will follow the same process and format as the original 
EIS (i.e., draft, final, record of decision (ROD)), except that scoping 
is not required. Per 40 CFR 1506.13, the SEIS will follow Council on 
Environmental Quality regulations in effect prior to September 14, 
2020. The original EIS and other project documents will be available on 
the I-94 project website http://www.wisconsindot.gov/94eastwest.
    Public involvement is a critical component of the project 
development process and will occur throughout the development of the 
SEIS. The draft SEIS will be made available for public and agency 
review and comment prior to the public hearing. After public review of 
the draft SEIS and public hearing, FHWA and WisDOT will issue a final 
SEIS and ROD. The final SEIS and ROD may be issued as one combined 
document pursuant to 23 U.S.C. 139(n)(2) and 23 CFR 771.124, unless 
criteria are met for issuing the documents separately.
    To ensure that the full range of issues related to the proposed 
action are

[[Page 31783]]

identified, comments and suggestions are invited from all interested 
parties. Comments or questions concerning this proposed action can be 
directed to the FHWA or WisDOT contacts listed above.

(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: June 9, 2021.
Bethaney L. Bacher-Gresock,
Environmental Program and Project Specialist, Federal Highway 
Administration, Madison Wisconsin.
[FR Doc. 2021-12481 Filed 6-14-21; 8:45 am]
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