Interstate 15/Limonite Avenue Interchange Improvements Project
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Interstate 15/Limonite Avenue Interchange Improvements Project CITIES OF EASTVALE AND JURUPA VALLEY RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA DISTRICT 08 – RIV – 15 (PM 46.7/49.7) EA 0E150 PN 0800020201 Initial Study [with Proposed Mitigated Negative Declaration] Prepared by the State of California Department of Transportation and in cooperation with the County of Riverside and the Cities of Eastvale and Jurupa Valley July 2015 This page intentionally left blank. General Information about This Document What’s in this document: The California Department of Transportation (Department), with cooperation from the County of Riverside and the cities of Eastvale and Jurupa Valley, has prepared this Initial Study (IS), which examines the potential environmental impacts of the alternatives being considered for the proposed project located in Riverside County, California. The proposed project would improve the existing freeway interchange at Interstate 15 (I-15) and Limonite Avenue. The Department is the lead agency under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The document tells you why the project is being proposed, what alternatives we have considered for the project, how the existing environment could be affected by the project, the potential impacts of the alternatives, and the proposed avoidance, minimization, and/or mitigation measures. What you should do: • Please read the document. • Additional copies of the document are available for review at: Riverside County Transportation Department (3525 14th Street, Riverside 92501), Eastvale Library (7447 Scholar Way, Eastvale 92880), and Glen Avon Library (9244 Galena Street, Jurupa Valley 92509) • This document may be downloaded at the following website: http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist8/I- 15 Limonite.htm. • Attend the public meeting on August 6, 2015 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Dr. Augustine Ramirez Intermediate School located at 6905 Harrison Avenue, Eastvale 92880. • We’d like to hear what you think. If you have any comments regarding the proposed project, please send your written comments to the Department by the deadline. Send comments via postal mail to: California Department of Transportation, District 08 Kurt Heidelberg, M.S., M.A. Senior Environmental Planner Environmental Studies “D” 464 West 4th Street, MS-820 San Bernardino, California 92401-1400 Send comments via email to: [email protected] Please use “I-15/Limonite Avenue Interchange Project” in the subject line of the email. • Be sure to send comments by the deadline: August 19, 2015. What happens next: After comments are received from the public and reviewing agencies, the Department may: (1) give environmental approval to the proposed project, (2) do additional environmental studies, or (3) abandon the project. If the project is given environmental approval and funding is appropriated, the Department could design and construct all or part of the project. For individuals with sensory disabilities, this document can be made available in Braille, in large print, on audiocassette, or on computer disk. To obtain a copy in one of these alternate formats, please call or write to County of Riverside, Attn: John Marcinek, County Project Manager, 3525 14th Street, Riverside 92501, or use the California Relay Service 1 (800) 735-2929 (TTY), 1 (800) 735-2929 (Voice) or 711. This page intentionally left blank. PROPOSED MITIGATED NEGATIVE DECLARATION Pursuant to: Division 13, Public Resources Code PN 0800020201 SCH: ______________ Project Description The County of Riverside (County), in cooperation with the California Department of Transportation (Department) and the cities of Eastvale and Jurupa Valley, proposes to improve the existing freeway interchange at Interstate 15 (I-15) and Limonite Avenue. Limonite Avenue is an existing four-lane facility traveling in an east-west direction. Within the project limits, I-15 is currently a six-lane access-controlled freeway with three mixed-flow lanes in each direction. The Limonite Avenue Overcrossing is an east-west roadway, and currently provides two traffic lanes in each direction and two left-turn lanes at the I-15/Limonite Avenue on- and off-ramp intersections. To the west of I-15 (approximately 700 feet west of the intersection of the I-15 southbound ramps and Limonite Avenue), Limonite Avenue widens to three lanes in each direction. The I-15 median is currently unimproved and depressed with Type K barriers along the northbound outer edge of the median shoulder and south along the southbound outer edge of the median shoulder. Commercial and retail land uses are located to the northwest, southwest, and southeast of the interchange area. A Park and Ride facility is located along Limonite Avenue near the existing I-15 northbound on-ramp and residential land uses are also located in the vicinity of the interchange. The project extends along Limonite Avenue between Hamner Avenue and Wineville Avenue. Along I-15, improvements are proposed from approximately 1.5 miles south to 1.4 miles north of the existing Limonite Avenue Overcrossing. The proposed project would replace the existing Limonite Avenue Overcrossing and would widen the roadway from four lanes to six lanes. Specifically, the project would widen the existing northbound and southbound on-and off-ramps, widen Limonite Avenue to three lanes in each direction through the interchange area, and replace the existing Limonite Avenue Overcrossing structure. Determination This proposed Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) is included to give notice to interested agencies and the public that it is the Department’s intent to adopt an MND for this project. This does not mean that the Department’s decision regarding the project is final. This MND is subject to modification based on comments received by interested agencies and the public. The Department has prepared an Initial Study for this project and, pending public review, expects to determine from this study that the proposed project would not have a significant effect on the environment for the following reasons: The proposed project would have no effect on: • Land Use and Planning; • Mineral Resources; and • Recreation. I-15/Limonite Avenue Interchange Improvements Project S-1 Initial Study In addition, the proposed project would have less than significant effects on: Aesthetics; Agricultural Resources; Air Quality; Biological Resources; Geology and Soils; Hazards and Hazardous Materials; Hydrology and Water Quality; Noise; Population and Housing; Public Services; Transportation and Traffic; Utilities and Service Systems; Mandatory Findings of Significance; and Cumulative Impacts. The proposed project would have a less than significant effect with mitigation on Cultural Resources because the following mitigation measure would reduce potential effects on Paleontological Resources: • PALEO-1: A Paleontological Mitigation Plan (PMP) shall be developed and implemented prior to commencement of project construction. The PMP shall follow the guidelines of the Department and the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP). The PMP shall include the following: o Attendance by a qualified paleontologist at the preconstruction meeting to consult with the grading and excavation contractors. o On-site presence of a paleontological monitor to inspect for paleontological resources on a full-time basis during the original cutting of previously undisturbed deposits of high paleontological resource potential and on a part-time basis during the original cutting of previously undisturbed deposits of low paleontological resource potential. o Salvage and recovery of paleontological resources by the qualified paleontologist or paleontological monitor. o Collection of stratigraphic data by the qualified paleontologist and/or paleontological monitor to provide a stratigraphic context for recovered paleontological resources. o Preparation (repair and cleaning), sorting, and cataloguing of recovered paleontological resources. o Donation of prepared fossils, field notes, photographs, and maps to a scientific institution with permanent paleontological collections, such as the San Bernardino County Museum (SBCM). o Completion of a final summary report that outlines the results of the mitigation program. The PMP shall also incorporate the general guidelines for conformable impact mitigation to significant nonrenewable paleontological resources as developed by the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (1995). A PMP shall be prepared and submitted to the Department for review during the Plans, Specifications, and Estimates (PS&E) phase of the project. _________________________________ ______________________________ DAVID BRICKER Date Deputy District Director District 08 Division of Environmental Planning California Department of Transportation I-15/Limonite Avenue Interchange Improvements Project S-2 Initial Study Table of Contents Page Chapter 1 Proposed Project ............................................................................................1-1 1.1 Project Location ...................................................................................1-1 1.2 Project Description ...............................................................................1-1 1.3 Project Maps ........................................................................................1-5 1.4 Permits and Approvals Needed ..........................................................1 -29 Chapter 2 CEQA Checklist...............................................................................................2-1 2.1 Aesthetics ............................................................................................2-3