INTERSTATE HIGHWAY SYSTEM Streamlined Process for Section 106 and Section 4(F) Compliance
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INTERSTATE HIGHWAY SYSTEM Streamlined Process for Section 106 and Section 4(f) Compliance As the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways (Interstate Highway System) approached the fifty-year anniversary on June 29, 2006, large sections of the Interstate System would have achieved the mark at which resources are often evaluated for historic significance. In order to address the volume of administrative work this could foster, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation adopted the Section 106 Exemption Regarding Effects to the Interstate Highway System on March 10, 2005. This exemption effectively excludes the majority of the 46,700-mile Interstate System from consideration as a historic property under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). In addition, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU, Public Law 109-59, Aug. 10, 2005) includes a provision (Section 6007) that exempts the bulk of the Interstate Highway System from consideration as a historic resource under Section 4(f) of the Department of Transportation Act. With these two exemptions in place, Federal agencies are no longer required to consider the vast majority of the Interstate Highway System as historic property under Section 106 and Section 4(f) requirements. Excluded from these respective exemptions are elements of the Interstate System that are exceptional in some way or meet a national level of significance under the criteria for the National Register of Historic Places. The final list identifies those elements that are not covered by the exemptions discussed above and will therefore continue to be subject to consideration under the Section 106 and Section 4(f) processes.1 Historically Significant Features are Excluded from the Exemption The Exemption does not apply to certain historically important, distinctive features of the system. Certain elements of the Interstate System, such as bridges, tunnels, and rest stops, may be excluded from the provisions of the Exemption when designated by FHWA. The Exemption sets forth the criteria by which FHWA identified these elements in consultation with stakeholders in each State. All identified elements continue to be subject to the requirements of Section 106. Criteria for identifying elements of the Interstate System that will continue to require Section 106 review included the following: 1. At least 50 years old and meet the National Register criteria for national significance 2. Less than 50 years old and meet the National Register criteria for exceptional significance 3. Listed in the National Register or have been determined eligible by the Keeper of the Register 4. Were constructed prior to 1956, were incorporated into the Interstate System, and meet the National Register criteria for State or local significance In 2006, the FHWA New York Division, in coordination with the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), the New York State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), and other stakeholders, developed a list of Interstate elements to be excluded from the Exemption, based on these criteria. The excluded list for New York appears on the Final List of Nationally and Exceptionally Significant Features of the Federal Interstate Highway System, published in the Federal Register on Dec. 19, 2006. 1 Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Environmental Review Toolkit: https://www.environment.fhwa.dot.gov/histpres/highways.asp. All Interstate Highway projects must still take into account the effects of their actions on properties other than elements of the Interstate Highway System. For example, archeological sites that might be affected by ground-disturbing activities must still be identified and considered. In addition, Tribal Lands are not included in the Exemption.2 Guidance on applying the Interstate Exemption to NYSDOT Projects I. Check the Final List of Nationally and Exceptionally Significant Features of the Federal Interstate Highway System for New York. Interstate elements on this ‘Excluded List’ (attached) continue to be subject to the requirements of Section 106 and Section 4(f). II. With the exception of Interstate elements on the Excluded List (attached), Section 106 and Section 4(f) exemptions apply to facilities within the right-of-way (ROW) of highways posted with the official red, white, and blue Interstate Highway System shield. All facilities within the ROW of these highways (e.g., road bed, engineering features, bridges, tunnels, rest stops, interchanges, off-ramps, on-ramps, etc.) are considered to be part of the Interstate Highway System. III. Follow established Section 106 and Section 4(f) procedures: For projects that involve Interstate elements on the Excluded List; For buildings, structures, districts, sites, and objects outside of the ROW that may be affected by the project, and are National Register listed or eligible in their own right (i.e. separate from the Interstate System); For resources that lie within the Interstate ROW, but are not part of the Interstate System (e.g., buried archeological sites);3 and For Interstate projects located on Tribal Lands. ATTACHMENT Final List of Nationally and Exceptionally Significant Features of the Federal Interstate Highway System (Excluded List) 2 FHWA Successes in Stewardship, The Interstate Highway System Section 106 Exemption: Maintaining a Unique Resource: https://www.environment.fhwa.dot.gov/strmlng/newsletters/may05nl.asp. 3 FHWA PER Legislation, Regulations & Guidance, SAFETEA-LU: Section 6007 – Questions and Answers on the Exemption of the Interstate System: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/guidance/interstate4fqa.cfm. Final List of Nationally and Exceptionally Significant Features of the Federal Interstate Highway System Date Listed on National National Year Register Register OR Interstate Resource Property Milepost Construction Exclusion Area(s) of Criterion Determined Number Name Type [Range] Completed Criterion Significance (A-D) Eligible Brief Statement of Significance ALABAMA The Mobile Delta Crossing was designed by Howard Needles Tammen and Bergendoff and was constructed in 1980. The bridge crosses the Mobile-Tensaw Delta, which was recently named a National Natural Landmark by Congress. The Mobile Delta Crossing is 32,098 feet in length and covers slightly over 6 miles of bridge structure. The main span is a distinctive tied-arch bridge made of weathering steel that Mobile Delta spans 800 feet. One of the few tied-arch bridges in the U.S., this type was chosen for the Mobile Delta I-65 Crossing Bridge 24.2 - 30.3 1980 2 Engineering Crossing for its ability to span a great distance and for the design’s cost effectiveness. ALASKA Alaska Tanana River Military History, Eligible The Tanana River Bridge is associated with the building of the Alaska Highway. It is the only bridge of its Hwy (A-1) Bridge Bridge 1303 1944 4 Engineering A, C 5/20/2003 type (Subdivided Warren Through Truss) in Alaska. The Tok River Bridge is associated with the construction of the Alaska Highway from 1942-1944 by the U.S. Army during World War II. The Alaska Highway was built as a land transport route in the event that the Japanese seized shipping lines in the Pacific and to connect and supply a chain of strategic military airfields Alaska Tok River Military History, in all weather conditions. This bridge is one of five truss bridges in the U.S. portion of the Alaska Highway Hwy (A-1) Bridge Bridge 1313.9 1944 4 Engineering A, C that retain integrity from the World War II period of significance. The Robertson River Bridge is associated with the construction of the Alaska Highway from 1942-1944 by the U.S. Army during World War II. The Alaska Highway was built as a land transport route in the event that the Japanese seized shipping lines in the Pacific and to connect and supply a chain of strategic military Alaska Robertson Military History, airfields in all weather conditions. This bridge is one of five truss bridges in the U.S. portion of the Alaska Hwy (A-2) River Bridge Bridge 1353 1944 4 Engineering A, C Highway that retain integrity from the World War II period of significance. The Johnson River Bridge is associated with the construction of the Alaska Highway from 1942-1944 by the U.S. Army during World War II. The Alaska Highway was built as a land transport route in the event that the Japanese seized shipping lines in the Pacific and to connect and supply a chain of strategic military airfields Alaska Johnson River Military History, in all weather conditions. This bridge is one of five truss bridges in the U.S. portion of the Alaska Highway Hwy (A-2) Bridge Bridge 1380.5 1944 4 Engineering A, C that retain integrity from the World War II period of significance. The Big Gerstle River Bridge was re-named as the Black Veterans Memorial Bridge in 1993 by a bill sponsored by Rep. Bettye Davis of Anchorage. Naming of the bridge, built in 1944, recognizes and commemorates the black soldiers of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for their contribution in constructing the Alcan Highway, now known as the Alaska Highway, from 1942-1944 during World War II. The Alaska Black Highway was built as a land transport route in the event that the Japanese seized shipping lines in the Veterans Pacific and to connect and supply a chain of strategic military airfields in all weather conditions. This bridge Alaska Memorial Military History, is one of five truss bridges in the U.S. portion of the Alaska Highway that retain integrity from the World War Hwy (A-2) Bridge Bridge 1399 1944 4 Engineering A, C II period of significance. ARIZONA This section was the last piece of I-10 to be finished, making the I-10 a continuous transcontinental route. The Papago Freeway was built partly as a depressed freeway. It is covered by 19 side-by-side bridges that form the foundation for a 12-hectare urban park.