Red Hills Parkway State Route 18 (Bluff Street) to Industrial Road Washington County, Utah Environmental Assessment and Draft Section 4(f) Evaluation November 2007 Submitted Pursuant to: 42 USC 4332(2)(C) and 49 USC 303 U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration Utah Department of Transportation General Information About This Document What’s in this document? The City of St. George (City), Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT), and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) have prepared this environmental assessment (EA) to examine the potential environmental impacts of the Build and No-Build Alternatives for the proposed Red Hills Parkway project, State Route 18 (Bluff Street) to Industrial Road, located in Washington County, Utah. This EA describes the following: why the project is being proposed, alternatives that were considered for the project, the existing environment that could be affected by the project, potential impacts from the Build and No-Build Alternatives, and proposed avoidance, minimization, and/or mitigation measures. What should you do? Please read this environmental assessment. Additional copies of this document as well as the supporting technical studies are available for review at the St. George City Hall, Public Works Department, located at 175 East 200 North; the St. George Branch of the Washington County Library, located at 88 West 100 South; UDOT Region 4, 1345 South 350 West, Richfield; and FHWA, 2520 West 4700 South, Suite 9A, Salt Lake City. If possible, please attend the public hearing to be held December 19, 2007, in the St. George City Council Chambers, 175 East 200 North, St. George, Utah, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. We welcome your comments. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the proposed project, please send us your written comments by January 7, 2008. Comments may be submitted via postal mail, addressed to: City of St. George, c/o Jones & Stokes, Attn: Jennifer Bassett-Hales, 1935 East Vine Street, Suite 250, Salt Lake City, UT 84121; or via email, addressed to: [email protected]. Please note that the deadline for receiving comments on this document is January 7, 2008. What happens next? After comments are received from the public and reviewing agencies, the comments will be reviewed and considered. After that, the City, UDOT, and FHWA may 1. conduct additional environmental studies, 2. give environmental approval to the proposed project, or 3. discontinue the project. If the project is given environmental approval and funding is appropriated, the City could design and construct all or part of the project. Utah Department of Transportation November 2007 1 Red Hills Parkway Transportation Improvements from State Route 18 (Bluff Street) to Industrial Road Environmental Assessment and Draft Section 4(f) Evaluation Submitted Pursuant to: 42 USC 4332(2)(C) and 49 USC 303 U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration, and Utah Department of Transportation The following persons may be contacted for additional information concerning this document: Brenda Redwing Clayton Wilson Aron Baker Area Engineer—Region IV Project Manager City Traffic Engineer FHWA Utah Division UDOT Region 4 Office St. George City Hall 2520 West 4700 South, Suite 9A 1345 South 350 West 175 East 200 North Salt Lake City, UT 84118 Richfield, UT 84701 St. George, UT 84770 Telephone (801) 963-0182 Telephone (435) 893-4744 Telephone (435) 627-4006 Summary This section of the environmental assessment (EA) provides a summary of the proposed action, alternatives analyzed, potential environmental impacts, and proposed mitigation measures. It also includes a list of approvals required for project implementation. Proposed Action The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT), and the City of St. George (City) propose to implement approximately 3.5 miles of transportation improvements along Red Hills Parkway between State Route (SR) 18 (Bluff Street) and Industrial Road in the City of St. George, Washington County, Utah. The proposed action would involve widening Red Hills Parkway, currently a two-lane facility (one eastbound lane and one westbound lane), to two lanes in each direction with a center turn lane between Skyline Drive and Industrial Road. A grade-separated diamond interchange configuration would be constructed at the intersection of Red Hills Parkway and Bluff Street. Additional improvements along portions of Red Hills Parkway would include sidewalk, curb, gutter, upgraded signals at existing intersections, and a separate paved pedestrian/bike trail. Purpose and Need The purpose of the proposed action is to better accommodate east/west travel demand on Red Hills Parkway between Bluff Street and Industrial Road. The needs the proposed action is intended to address have been identified as follows: insufficient transportation system capacity to accommodate growing travel demand, insufficient east/west transportation capacity to serve areas in the City that attract large traffic volumes, excessive projected vehicle hours of delay along Red Hills Parkway, insufficient multi-modal trail connectivity, safe intersections and trail crossings, Utah Department of Transportation November 2007 S-1 Red Hills Parkway, SR-18 (Bluff Street) to Industrial Road Summary Environmental Assessment Mojave Desert tortoise habitat adjacent to Red Hills Parkway, lack of continuous east/west traffic lanes, and congestion on St. George Boulevard. Alternatives Considered The initial traffic analysis considered a five-lane and a seven-lane cross section. During the scoping process for the Red Hills Parkway project, comments were received requesting consideration of a “Northern Corridor” Alternative and a Transportation System Management/Transportation Demand Management (TSM/TDM) Alternative. The TSM/TDM Alternative was eliminated from further consideration because it did not meet the project purpose and need. Three build alternatives, the Build Alternative (5-Lane Alternative), the 7-Lane Alternative, and the Northern Corridor Alternative, underwent a more detailed screening process. The screening process was based on a series of criteria that evaluated traffic capacity, traffic circulation, pedestrian and bike use, safety, environmental impacts, and implementation. The five alternatives that were considered are described below. TSM/TDM Alternative The TSM/TDM Alternative would use the existing transportation system better by improving the efficiency of vehicles, roads, and signals and managing demand for the system without changing the total number of travel lanes on the road. 7-Lane Alternative The 7-Lane Alternative would follow the existing Red Hills Parkway alignment from Bluff Street to Industrial Road. This alternative would require a 175-foot-wide right-of-way and be designed for three traffic lanes in each direction, with an unpaved center median or paved turn lane. This alternative would also include a separate paved bike/pedestrian path and shoulders that would be striped to accommodate bike lanes. Northern Corridor The Northern Corridor would begin at Red Hills Parkway approximately 1 mile east of Bluff Street and continue through the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve, eventually connecting to I-15 at milepost 13. This alternative would include three lanes of traffic in each direction, with an unpaved center median or paved turn lane. The Northern Corridor would include a separate paved bike/pedestrian path and shoulders that would be striped to accommodate bike lanes. Utah Department of Transportation November 2007 S-2 Red Hills Parkway, SR-18 (Bluff Street) to Industrial Road Summary Environmental Assessment Build Alternative (5-Lane Alternative) The Build Alternative would include widening the existing Red Hills Parkway alignment from Bluff Street to Industrial Road. This alternative would be designed for two lanes in each direction, with an unpaved center median or paved turn lane. This alternative would also include a separate paved bike/pedestrian path and shoulders that would be striped to accommodate bike lanes. On October 19, 2006, the City of St. George passed a resolution affirming its support for the Build Alternative as the locally preferred alternative and considered this alternative the best alternative to meet transportation goals while minimizing impacts on important visual, cultural, and biological resources. No-Build Alternative Under the No-Build Alternative, Red Hills Parkway would continue to operate as a two-lane road. Planned improvements listed on the adopted Regional Transportation Plan or projects with funding currently available would be implemented. The intersection of Skyline Drive and Red Hills Parkway would be realigned approximately 100 feet north of its existing alignment and signalized. Additional minor improvements anticipated along Red Hills Parkway under the No-Build Alternative are presented in Chapter 2. Major Unresolved Issues The major unresolved issue for this project is the completion of the Section 7 consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The City of St. George is also actively pursuing acquisition of two parcels of private property (parcel numbers SG-6-2-13-3410 and SG-6-2-13-3415) to compensate for the loss of desert tortoise habitat as a result of the proposed project. Required Approvals Table S-1 lists approvals that would be needed to complete the proposed action. Utah Department of Transportation November 2007 S-3 Red Hills Parkway, SR-18 (Bluff Street) to Industrial Road Summary