[Federal Register: November 3, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 212)]
[Notices]               
[Page 59822]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr03no99-159]                         


[[Page 59822]]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration

 
Environmental Impact Statement: Bronx County and New York County, 
NY

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 (EIS) will be prepared for a proposed 
bridge improvement project in Bronx County and New York County, New 
York.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: (1) Harold J. Brown, Division 
Administrator, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Leo O'Brien 
Federal Building, 9th Floor, Albany, New York 12207; Telephone: (518) 
431-4127 or (2) Richard Maitino, Regional Director, New York State 
Department of Transportation--Region 11 Office, Hunter's Point Plaza, 
47-40 21st Street 8th Floor, Long Island City, New York 11101; 
Telephone: (718) 482-4526.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FHWA, in cooperation with the New York 
State Department of Transportation and the New York City Departmental 
of Transportation (NYCDOT), will prepare an EIS on the proposal to 
rehabilitate, reconstruct, or replace the Willis Avenue Bridge over the 
Harlem River in Bronx County and New York County, New York .
    The Willis Avenue Bridge is one of six bridges which span the lower 
Harlem River, providing a continuous street grid system between upper 
Manhattan and the southwest Bronx. Opened to traffic in 1901, the four-
lane Willis Avenue Bridge, a swing bridge, is now open for one-way 
Bronx-bound vehicular travel with complementary Manhattan-bound service 
provided on the Third Avenue Bridge, several blocks to the north. The 
bridge is used by approximately 70,000 vehicles daily outbound from 
Manhattan, with 4,800 vehicles in the PM peak hour, when traffic is 
heaviest. The proposed project raises a number of environmental issues 
including effects on historic resources, water quality, natural 
resources, hazardous materials contamination, and parkland.
    Improvements to the bridge are considered necessary to provide for 
the existing and projected traffic demand by improving land width and 
geometry of the bridge and its approach ramps, reducing the rate of 
accidents, increasing the bridge's load carrying capacity, improving 
the bridge's bicycle and pedestrian facilities, and addressing all 
structural and seismic deficiencies of the present structure. 
Alternatives under consideration include (1) Taking no action; (2) an 
on-line rehabilitation of the existing bridge; (3) an on-line 
replacement, and (4) an off-line replacement. Incorporated into and 
studied with the various build alternatives will be design variations 
of bridge type (moveable or fixed) and materials (concrete or steel). 
All proposed alternatives retain four Bronx-bound lanes.
    Letters describing the proposed action and soliciting comments will 
be sent to appropriate Federal, State, and local agencies, and to 
private organizations and citizens who have previously expressed or are 
known to have interest in this proposal. A public scoping meeting, for 
the purpose of soliciting comments from the public on the proposed 
scope of work for the EIS, will be held in November 1999. To ensure 
that the full range of issues related to this proposed action are 
addressed and that all significant issues are identified in the 
upcoming EIS, comments and suggestions are invited from all interested 
parties. Comments or questions concerning this proposed action and the 
EIS should be directed to the NYSDOT or FHWA at the addresses provided 
above.
    After completion of the Draft EIS, a public hearing will be held. 
Public notice will be given of the time and place of the meeting and 
hearing. The Draft EIS will be available for public and agency review 
and comment prior to the public hearing.

(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)

    Authority: 23 U.S.C. 315; 23 CFR 771.123.

    Issued on October 21, 1999.
Douglas P. Conlan,
District Engineer, FHWA, Albany, New York.
[FR Doc. 99-28781 Filed 11-2-99; 8:45 am]
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