[Federal Register: June 28, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 123)]
[Notices]
[Page 36158-36159]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr28jn04-109]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Transit Administration
Preparation of Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement on the
Silver Line Phase III, Boston, MA
AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration (FTA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact
Statement (SEIS).
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SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the Massachusetts
Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) intend to prepare a Supplemental
Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) in accordance with the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and a Supplemental Environmental Impact
Report (SEIR) in accordance with the Massachusetts Environmental Policy
Act (MEPA) for Phase III of the Silver Line. The Silver Line is
comprised of two formerly separate MBTA bus rapid transit (BRT)
projects: the South Boston Piers Transitway (now Silver Line Phase II),
providing service from downtown Boston to the South Boston Waterfront
area and Logan International Airport, and the Washington Street
Replacement Transit Service (now Silver Line Phase I), extending from
Dudley Square to downtown Boston. Phase III will connect Silver Line
Phases I and II and will run from South Station to Washington Street
along Essex and Boylston Streets. Two new Silver Line Stations are
proposed: at Boylston Station (connecting to the MBTA Green Line) and
Chinatown Station (connecting to the MBTA Orange Line). Alternative
alignments for the tunnel extension to the portal connection to
Washington Street will be evaluated in the SEIS.
Phase III of the Silver Line incorporates what had originally been
the second phase of the South Boston Piers Transitway, a tunnel
connection between South Station and Boylston Station. An alignment for
this phase, extending from South Station along Essex Street, Avenue de
Lafayette, and Avery/Tremont Streets to Boylston Station terminating in
a loop underneath the Boston Common Central Burying Ground, was
reviewed and approved as part of the 1993 South Boston Piers/Fort Point
Channel Transit Project Final Environmental Impact Statement/Final
Environmental Impact Report (FEIS/FEIR). The FTA issued its Record of
Decision (ROD) for the Full Build Alternative of the South Boston Piers
Transitway Project (which was intended to be built in two phases) on
May 12, 1994. The initial phase of the Transitway project (now Phase II
of the Silver Line) is currently under construction between South
Station and the South Boston waterfront. This SEIS will evaluate the
alignment modifications from South Station (where it will connect to
the Phase II tunnel) to Boylston Station and the alternative tunnel
alignment and portal locations for the connection to Phase I of the
Silver Line, which is currently providing service on Washington Street.
DATES: A Public Hearing will be held Wednesday, July 14, 2004 at 7 p.m.
at the Renaissance School at 250 Stuart Street, Boston, Massachusetts.
Written Comments on the scope of the SEIS should be sent to Mr. Andrew
Brennan no later than Friday, July 30, 2004. See ADDRESSES below.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to Mr. Andrew Brennan,
Director of Environmental Affairs, Massachusetts Bay Transportation
Authority, 10 Park Plaza, Room 6720, Boston, MA 02116. Phone No. 617-
222-3126.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Donna Laidley, Federal Transit
Administration, Region 1, 55 Broadway, Kendall Square, Cambridge, MA
02142, Phone No. 617-494-2484. Project Information can also be found on
the MBTA's Web site at http://www.allaboutsilverline.com.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Public Comment
FTA and MBTA will establish the scope of the SEIS for Silver Line
Phase III after consulting with Federal, State, and local resource and
regulatory agencies through meetings and correspondence, and after
hearing from the general public. Interested individuals, organizations,
and agencies are invited to comment on the alternatives to be evaluated
and related issues of concern. Written comments on the alternatives and
potential impacts to be considered should be sent to Andrew Brennan at
the MBTA.
II. Alternatives
A preferred alternative for the core tunnel segment has been
selected. This core tunnel segment connects to the existing Silver Line
Phase II tunnel in Atlantic Avenue, near South Station. The tunnel
extends down Essex and Boylston Street to a turnaround loop under the
intersection of Charles and Boylston Streets. Two new underground
Silver Line stations at Chinatown and Boylston Street will be provided.
The core tunnel segment is substantially similar to the project that
was reviewed in the prior 1993 FEIS/FEIR, for which the FTA issued a
ROD, and the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs
(EOEA) issued a Certificate of Adequacy.
The preferred portal location and tunnel alignment connecting the
core tunnel segment to the portal have not been selected at this point.
The public comment process will provide input into the analysis of
alternatives, following which a preferred portal location and tunnel
alignment alternative will be selected through the SEIS process. The
FTA and the MBTA propose that the following alternatives be considered
in the SEIS:
Alternative 1: No-Action
This Alternative assumes existing conditions within the Silver Line
Phase III corridor, and that Silver Line Phase I and Phase II would
operate as independent services. This alternative further assumes no
transit investment in the corridor, and therefore avoids any impacts or
benefits associated with the Build Alternatives. It serves as the NEPA
baseline against which the transportation, environmental and community
impacts of the other alternatives are compared. The No Action
Alternative further consists of the transportation network contained in
the Regional Transportation Plan for the year 2025.
[[Page 36159]]
Alternative 2: Transportation System Management (TSM)
This alternative includes increased Frequency of Existing Service.
Under this option revenue service on Phases I and II would be increased
to a level consistent with that proposed for Phase III operation.
Headways for both Phases would be decreased and connections between
Phases I and II would be made via transfer to and from the Red Line at
Downtown Crossing Station (to access the waterfront and Logan Airport)
or South Station (to access destinations along Washington Street). For
the purpose of the FTA's Section 5309 New Starts evaluation process,
this TSM alternative serves as the baseline for quantifying the
transportation benefits of the build alternatives.
Alternatives 3 Through 5
The MBTA has developed a set of portal location and portal route
alignment alternatives that respond both to the concerns of various
stakeholders within the project area and to engineering and operational
criteria. Each of these alternatives has in common the core tunnel
segment from South Station to the turnaround loop at Charles Street
that follows an alignment on Essex and Boylston Streets. This core
tunnel segment configuration provides the option of the following
alternative alignments to a portal.
Alternative 3: Tremont Street/NEMC Portal
This Alternative consists of a tunnel extending from the core
tunnel segment on a Tremont Street alignment to a portal located
between the New England Medical Center (NEMC) garage and the Doubletree
Hotel (the NEMC Portal)with a ramp providing access to Washington
Street.
Alternative 4: Charles Street/NEMC Portal
This Alternative consists of a tunnel extending south from the core
tunnel segment along a Charles Street alignment, and turning east
crossing under Elliot Norton Park and Tremont Street to the NEMC Portal
and ramp to Washington Street.
Alternative 5: Charles Street/Elliot Norton Park Portal
This Alternative consists of a tunnel extending south from the core
tunnel segment along a Charles Street alignment to a portal located
within Elliot Norton Park, with a ramp to Tremont Street.
Other Alternatives
The Silver Line Phase III project will serve the Washington Street
corridor as far as Dudley Station, and will also provide parallel
service to the Back Bay, providing a connection from both areas to the
South Boston waterfront and Logan Airport. Throughout the development
of the project, individuals and stakeholders have raised the concept of
shifting the portal to a location closer to the Back Bay, making this
connection more direct. Under such an alignment, the MBTA would still
connect to Phase I service in Washington Street, but via a portal in
the Columbus Avenue area, as opposed to a portal on Washington Street.
The FTA and MBTA are interested in receiving public comment on the
viability and feasibility of such an alternative, and whether it would
be appropriate for detailed impact analysis in the SEIS.
III. Public Involvement
A comprehensive public involvement program has been developed. The
program includes: Outreach to local officials and community and civic
groups, a public hearing to identify issues of concern among all
interested parties, and development of a project Web site
http://www.allaboutsilverline.com.
IV. Probable Effects and Potential Impacts for Analysis
The FTA and MBTA will evaluate environmental, social, and economic
impacts of alternatives analyzed in the SEIS. The likely impact areas
to be addressed include: Noise and vibration; land use; visual/
aesthetic values; cultural and historical resources; water quality,
natural resources, air quality; traffic and parking; hazardous
materials; utilities; energy use and conservation; public safety and
security; and community impacts. The SEIS will evaluate environmental
justice issues as well as secondary, cumulative, and construction-
related impacts. The need for right-of-way acquisitions and relocations
will also be evaluated. Measures to avoid, minimize, and mitigate
adverse impacts will be developed and evaluated.
V. FTA Procedures
In accordance with FTA policy, all Federal laws, regulations, and
executive orders affecting project development, including but not
limited to the regulations of the Council on Environmental Quality and
FTA's regulations implementing NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508, and 23 CFR
part 771) will be addressed to the maximum extent practicable during
the NEPA process. In addition, the MBTA seeks 5309 New Starts funding
for the project and will therefore be subject all the requirements
contained in the FTA New Starts regulation (49 CFR part 611).
Issued on: June 21, 2004.
Richard H. Doyle,
Regional Administrator.
[FR Doc. 04-14637 Filed 6-25-04; 8:45 am]
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