Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement and Section 4(F) Evaluation August 2019
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Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement and Section 4(f) Evaluation August 2019 Prepared for the I-94 Modernization Project in Detroit from I-96 to Conner Avenue FHWA-MI-EIS-01-01-S1 I-94 Modernization Project in the City of Detroit Wayne County, Michigan DRAFT SUPPLEMENTAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT AND DRAFT SECTION 4(F) EVALUATION Submitted Pursuant to 42 USC 4332(2)(C) and CEQ Regulations (40CFR 1500 (et seq.)) by the: U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration and Michigan Department of Transportation Cooperating Agency: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Date of Approval Russell Jorgenson Division Administrator Federal Highway Administration This document describes the social, economic and natural environmental impacts associated with the modernization of approximately 6.7 miles of Interstate freeway (I-94) in the city of Detroit, Michigan between I-96 and Conner Avenue (Project). Improvements include adding a travel lane in each direction, modernizing system and service interchanges, reconstructing bridges crossing over the freeway, and changing existing service drives to maximize efficiencies of the connected local travel patterns. This document includes a summary of the planning basis and of the impacts associated with the proposed Project and the process involved in determining the preferred alternative. Proposed mitigation measures are also included. After circulation of the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (DSEIS), and consideration of the comments received, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) may issue a Combined Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement and Record of Decision (Combined FSEIS and ROD) document, unless statutory criteria or practicability considerations preclude issuance of the combined document. If comments received on the DSEIS are minor and responses to those comments are limited to factual corrections or explanations of why the comments do not warrant further response, the FHWA may instead issue a FSEIS Errata Sheet in compliance with Section 1319(a) of MAP-21, the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (P.L. 112-141), Accelerated Decision Making in Environmental Reviews. Project purpose: The purpose of the Project is to improve safety, capacity, local connectivity, and condition of the I- 94 roadway, service drives, bridges, and interchanges between I-96 and Conner Avenue. The Project improvements will be context sensitive and support the mobility needs of local, regional and interstate commerce as well as national and civil defense in a way that integrates all modes of travel. Additional information: For additional information concerning the Project or this document please visit the Project website at I94Detroit.org or contact one of the following persons: Ruth Hepfer, Environment/Right-of-way Specialist Terry Stepanski, Project Manager Michigan Division, Federal Highway Administration Michigan Department of Transportation (B220) 315 W. Allegan, Room 201 P.O. Box 30050 Lansing, MI 48933 425 W. Ottawa Street [email protected] Lansing, MI 48909 (517) 702-1847 [email protected] (517) 241-0233 DSEIS │ AUGUST 2019 FHWA-MI-EIS-01-01-S1 Where to find a review copy: An electronic copy of this document is available on the Project website, I94Detroit.org. Hard copies are located at the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) office, the I-94 Project Office, and select libraries and community centers throughout the Project area. Please contact one of the people listed above for more information or check the Project website. Technical documents referred to in this DSEIS are available at the same locations. Public hearing: Information on the date, time, and location of the public hearing is published in local newspapers and on the Project website I94Detroit.org. How to comment: Anyone can comment on this document during the 45-day comment period. We encourage residents to comment because we need to understand resident’s concerns so that the Project can be designed to avoid or minimize impacts and if impacts cannot be avoided, that mitigation measures can be developed. Your comments on the DSEIS may be submitted in a variety of ways: You may submit written comments through the Project website at I94Detroit.org, mail your comments to Terry Stepanski at the address above, or email your comments to the Project email box: [email protected]. Also, at the scheduled public hearing, you may give verbal testimony, use comment forms that will be available, or give your verbal testimony to a court reporter at the hearing. DSEIS │ AUGUST 2019 I-94 Modernization Project │ Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement Preface PREFACE The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) requires that the social, economic, and natural environmental impacts of any proposed action of the federal government be analyzed for decision-making and public information purposes. There are three classes of action. Class I Actions, which are those that may significantly affect the environment, require the preparation of an EIS. Class II Actions (categorical exclusions) are those that do not individually or cumulatively have a significant effect on the environment, and do not require the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) or an Environmental Assessment (EA). Class III Actions are those for which the significance of impacts is not clearly established. Class III Actions require the preparation of an EA to determine the significance of impacts and the appropriate environmental document to be prepared – either an EIS or a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI). An EIS may be supplemented when FHWA determines that new information or circumstances relevant to environmental concerns and bearing on the proposed action or its impacts would result in significant environmental impacts not evaluated in the EIS. This DSEIS evaluates changes to the Approved Selected Alternative (ASA) identified in the 2004 FEIS and 2005 Record of Decision (ROD) for the Project. Because of adverse and de minimis effects on historic resources and public parks/recreation areas, this document also serves as coordination documentation under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, and as the draft Section 4(f) Evaluation, under Section 4(f) of the Department of Transportation Act of 1966, which requires special consideration of these resources. DSEIS │ AUGUST 2019 I-94 Modernization Project │ Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement Statement of Disclosure STATEMENT OF DISCLOSURE HNTB Corporation has no interest, financial or otherwise, in the preparation of the I-94 Rehabilitation Project Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement and Section 4(f) Evaluation and Revised ROD other than compensation for the services performed and the general enhancement of HNTB’s professional reputation. The team of professionals which HNTB assembled to conduct field studies and analyses was selected based solely upon their qualifications. To the best of HNTB’s knowledge, no person or firm contributing to the preparation of this document has any interest in the findings or outcome of the process. DSEIS │ AUGUST 2019 I-94 Modernization Project │ Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface ............................................................................................................................................................... i Statement of Disclosure ................................................................................................................................. ii 1. Purpose and Need ..................................................................................................................................1-1 1.1. Purpose of the Proposed Action ....................................................................................................................... 1-1 1.2. Project Background ........................................................................................................................................... 1-1 1.3. Description of the Project Limits ..................................................................................................................... 1-3 1.3.1. Logical Termini and Independent Utility ....................................................................................................................... 1-3 1.4. Need for Project .................................................................................................................................................. 1-4 1.4.1. Outdated Design .............................................................................................................................................................. 1-4 1.4.2. Infrastructure Condition .................................................................................................................................................. 1-4 1.4.3. Traffic .................................................................................................................................................................................. 1-5 1.4.4. Safety .................................................................................................................................................................................. 1-8 1.4.5. Multimodal Transportation ............................................................................................................................................