[Federal Register: July 29, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 145)]
[Notices]               
[Page 41181-41182]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr29jy99-115]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration

 
Environmental Impact Statement: Jefferson, Cleveland, Lincoln, 
Bradley, and Drew Counties, Arkansas

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 an 
environmental impact statement will be prepared for a proposed highway 
project in the Arkansas Counties of Jefferson, Cleveland, Lincoln, 
Bradley, and Drew.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elizabeth Romero, Environmental 
Specialist, Federal Highway Administration, 3128 Federal Office 
Building, Little Rock, Arkansas 72201-3298, telephone: (501) 324-5625; 
or Dale Loe, Consultant Coordinator, Assistant Chief Engineer for 
Design, Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department, P.O. Box 
2261, Little Rock, Arkansas 72203, telephone: (501) 569-2301.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FHWA, in cooperation with the Arkansas 
State Highway and Transportation Department, will prepare an 
environmental impact statement (EIS) on a proposal to construct a four-
lane, divided, fully controlled access highway facility located on new 
alignment. Several alternatives and locations will be considered, 
including the ``no-action'' alternative in which roads are constructed 
in accordance with the Statewide Transportation Improvement Plan, with 
the exception of the proposed facility. The approximate length of the 
project is 50 miles.
    The proposed transportation facility, also known as the ``Southeast 
Arkansas I-69 Connector'', would improve regional travel, safety, 
intermodal connectivity, and economic development by providing a north-
south interstate-quality highway connecting Interstates 30 and 40 in 
Little Rock, Arkansas via U.S. 65 (Future Interstate Route I-530), to 
the proposed I-69 near the Monticello and Warren, Arkansas vicinity. 
The I-69 corridor is identified as a ``high priority corridor'' on the 
National Highway System that would provide a NAFTA transportation 
corridor of national significance from Sarnia, Ontario, Canada through 
Port Huron, Michigan and Indianapolis, Indiana to Memphis, Tennessee 
and would continue southward to Houston, Texas and end at the border 
with Mexico.

[[Page 41182]]

    The northern terminus of the project will connect to the U.S. 65 
(Future I-530) Bypass near Pine Bluff, Arkansas and the southern 
terminus will have an interim connection to U.S. 278 in the Monticello 
and Warren, Arkansas vicinity. The proposed connector was identified in 
Section 1211(h) of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century 
(TEA-21), as amended.
    Letters describing the proposed action and soliciting comments have 
been sent to appropriate Federal, state, and local agencies and to 
private organizations and citizens who have previously expressed or are 
known to have an interest in this project. A series of public meetings 
will be held within the study area beginning in the fall of 1999, with 
on-going public involvement activities. The draft Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) will be available for public and agency review and 
comment prior to a formal public hearing. Public notice will be given 
of the time and place for all meetings and hearings.
    To ensure that the full range of issues related to this 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 EIS should be 
directed to the FHWA at the address provided 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 proposed action.)

    Issued on: July 20, 1999.
Elizabeth Romero,
Environmental Specialist, FHWA, Little Rock, Arkansas.
[FR Doc. 99-19338 Filed 7-28-99 8:45 am]
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