Finding of No Significant Impact and Revised Environmental Assessment
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I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project Finding of No Significant Impact and Revised Environmental Assessment Federal Highway Administration Oregon Department of Transportation October 30, 2020 Department of Transportation Urban Mobility Office 123 NW Flanders St. Portland, OR 97209-4012 Phone: (503) 731-8200 Fax: (503) 731-8259 October 30, 2020 TO THE INTERESTED PARTIES OF THE: I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project Interstate 5 Multnomah County, Oregon Key No. 19071 This Revised Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact is being distributed for your information in accordance with state and federal regulations. The Environmental Assessment was published on February 15, 2019 for a 45-day public comment period, ending April 1, 2019. As a result of the comments received, revisions were made to the Environmental Assessment. Copies of comments received on the Environmental Assessment and a summary of comment responses are included within the Revised Environmental Assessment. An electronic version of the Revised Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact can be found on the I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project website at https://www.i5rosequarter.org/. Should you have any questions, please contact: Emily Cline Federal Highway Administration, Oregon Division 530 Center Street N.E., Suite 420 Salem, OR 97301 [email protected] And Megan Channell Oregon Department of Transportation, Urban Mobility Office 123 N.W. Flanders Street Portland, OR 97209 [email protected] Thank you for your interest in this project. Sincerely, Megan Channell Rose Quarter Project Director Federal Highway Administration Finding of No Significant Impact I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project Multnomah County, Oregon Key Number 19071 The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has determined that this project would not have a significant adverse impact on the human or natural environment. This finding is based on information provided in the Environmental Assessment (February 2019) and the Revised Environmental Assessment (inclusive of Errata), included herein, which have been found to adequately disclose the environmental impacts of the Project. These documents provide sufficient evidence and analysis for determining that an environmental impact statement is not required. The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) and FHWA worked together to develop the proposed design concept for the Project to improve the safety and operations on Interstate 5 (I-5) between Interstate 84 and Interstate 405, and improve multimodal community connections in the Broadway/Weidler interchange, with the objective to avoid and minimize impacts to the natural and human environment to the greatest extent possible. The Project impacts described herein would primarily be minor to moderate in degree; short term in duration; and limited to the existing I-5 corridor, local surface streets, and adjacent properties and would end once Project construction is complete. Project impacts include the following: • Minor short-term air quality impacts would occur within the existing I-5 corridor and surface streets in the immediate vicinity of construction activity (including haul routes). Minor long-term air quality impacts would be equal to or lower than for the No-Build Alternative. • During construction, nine historic properties could be affected by minor noise and vibration impacts, increased truck traffic, traffic congestion, changes to access, increased dust, and temporary changes to the historic setting. FHWA and ODOT have developed a Project-specific Programmatic Agreement (PA) in consultation with the Oregon State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) to avoid and/or minimize the potential for Project-related vibration impacts to historic properties. Long-term impacts to historic properties could include minor to moderate changes to the settings of historic properties by the introduction of new transportation structures and other improvements. None of these potential impacts is expected to adversely affect the characteristics that make these historic properties eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). • During construction, there would be limited potential for minor spills or releases of oil and fuel from mechanical equipment and the mobilization or release of existing contamination in soil and groundwater. October 30, 2020 | ii • Construction activities would result in moderate to substantial increases in short-term noise levels in the immediate vicinity (i.e., at a distance of 50 feet). • No substantial long-term operations-related traffic noise impacts are anticipated. • Construction activities would result in minor to moderate short-term impacts to highway traffic; local street motor vehicle traffic; driveway access; transit operations; and to people who walk, bike, and roll. • Existing above- and below-ground utilities could be impacted during construction, with effects ranging from minor brief temporary service interruptions to moderately complex relocations of electric transmission and distribution lines and water supply lines. • Previously undiscovered archaeological resources could experience minor to substantial impacts from the operation of heavy equipment during compaction, excavation, or grading of soils during construction and subsurface maintenance activities. Potential impacts to archaeological resources have been addressed through an Inadvertent Discovery Plan and a Project-specific PA between FHWA, Oregon SHPO, and ODOT that identifies mandatory protocols to be followed to protect archaeological resources in the event of an inadvertent discovery. • The Project could result in minor to moderate short-term impacts to minority and low- income populations from the temporary relocation of bus routes, adjustments to streetcar service, temporary closures of key walking and bicycling routes, and minor air impacts and moderate to substantial noise impacts from construction equipment. ODOT is committed to implementing mitigation measures to ensure potential impacts to environmental justice populations do not rise to the level of “disproportionately high and adverse effects” as defined in Executive Order 12898. The Project would provide numerous beneficial effects, including the following: • The Project would improve traffic operations on I-5 in both the AM and PM time periods, and weaving segment operations on the highway would improve, thereby improving safety. Potential queue lengths would be reduced on I-5, and travel speeds and times would be improved for all I-5 segments compared to the No-Build Alternative. • Long-term beneficial effects to transit would result from implementation of relevant elements of TriMet’s Enhanced Transit Corridors Plan, such as business access transit lanes, far-side bus stops, street/traffic modifications, curb extensions, and transit signal priority to reduce bus and streetcar travel times. • Long-term beneficial effects to active transportation and transportation safety would include improved conditions for pedestrians and bicyclists from increased travel route options, improved ramp terminal intersections, physical separation from motorized users, and reduced complexity of intersections. • Long-term emissions of mobile source air toxics (MSAT) and National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) criteria pollutants from vehicles operating on the highway October 30, 2020 | iii and local surface streets would be equal to or lower than emissions for the No-Build Alternative and would be substantially lower in 2045 compared to existing conditions (2017). • Two noise walls proposed along the eastern edge of I-5 would reduce existing and future traffic noise levels at sensitive receptors in the Project Area, including Harriet Tubman Middle School, thereby addressing public health and safety concerns raised by Portland Public Schools. • The Project would provide long-term benefits to environmental justice populations in the Project Area in the form of improved access to transit; improved mobility and safety for pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit riders; and improved physical connections to areas east and west of I–5 provided by the new highway covers and the Clackamas bicycle/pedestrian overcrossing. Improved transit service within and near the Project Area and the addition of transit boarding islands on N/NE Broadway, N/NE Weidler, and Multnomah would provide a more accessible, comfortable, and attractive transit stop environment. The Project would maintain or improve public health and safety in the following ways: • Traffic operations would improve on I-5 in both the AM and PM time periods, and weaving segment operations on the highway would improve, thereby improving safety. • Conditions for pedestrians and bicyclists would improve from increased travel route options, improved ramp terminal intersections, physical separation from motorized users, and reduced complexity of intersections. • Long-term emissions of MSAT and NAAQS criteria pollutants during Project operations would be equal to or lower than emissions for the No-Build Alternative and would be substantially lower in 2045 compared to existing conditions (2017). • Proposed noise walls would reduce existing and future traffic noise levels at sensitive receptors in the Project Area, including Harriet Tubman Middle School and Lillis-Albina Park. Interior noise levels at Harriet Tubman Middle School would be reduced by up to 5 A-weighted decibels by constructing a 22-foot-high noise wall between eastern edge of I-5