South County Connector Draft Environmental Impact Statement
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Draft Environmental Impact Statement Volume I Summary Chapters 1-6 St. Louis County, Missouri April 2013 FHWA-MO-EIS-13-01-D South County Connector Draft Environmental Impact Statement Summary St. Louis County, Missouri (County), in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT), has completed this Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a proposed transportation improvement project, referred to as the South County Connector. The project location map is depicted in Figure 1. This EIS describes existing problems in the project area, discusses development of alternatives, examines potential impacts of the alternatives considered, and identifies potential mitigation measures for unavoidable impacts. A preferred alternative is the alternative that best meets the project purpose and need, balances the benefits and impacts of the project, and is responsive to public and agency comments. Therefore, the final selection of an alternative will not be made until after considering comments from other federal, state and local agencies and the public as a part of the Draft EIS reviews and public hearing process. The preferred alternative will be presented in the Final EIS. PROJECT HISTORY A plan for an improved connection from south St. Louis County to central St. Louis County has existed since the late 1950s. The original concept was for a freeway “inner belt expressway” to provide better north-south access through the St. Louis suburbs. This freeway concept resulted in Interstate 170, north of Interstate 64/U.S. Route 40. Originally, Interstate 170 was proposed to continue south into the southern part of St. Louis County to provide improved access between Interstates 44, 55, and 64. After much deliberation, area leaders decided in the 1990s not to pursue a southward extension of Interstate 170 due to significant disruption of neighborhoods. Although this option was abandoned, St. Louis County, the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT), and other local agencies continued planning efforts to identify potential options for north-south access improvements in south and Figure 1: Location Map central St. Louis County. The previous planning studies focused on roadway and transit improvements from a regional perspective, as well as localized projects to improve access in the County. These studies encompassed a wide range of study areas that varied based on the specific goals of the sponsoring agencies. The one commonality among the studies, however, was the need to address north-south access improvements in the County. April 2013 S-1 Summary South County Connector Draft Environmental Impact Statement Based on the recommendations from the previous studies, St. Louis County identified the South County Connector as a high priority project that should be carried forward to the next stage of analysis, which has led to the development of this EIS. CORE STUDY AREA The project core study area includes parts of four municipalities: Shrewsbury, Maplewood, Webster Groves, and St. Louis City, as depicted in Figure 2. The project limits are generally bounded by Manchester Road to the north, Hanley Road and Laclede Station Road to the west, Murdoch Avenue and Watson Road to the south and Big Bend Boulevard and River des Peres to the east. Interstate 44 bisects the project study area. Figure 2: Study Area Map April 2013 S-2 Summary South County Connector Draft Environmental Impact Statement PURPOSE AND NEED Purpose and need refers to the transportation-related problems of a system that a project is intended to address. It identifies the need for improvements and justification for why a project is necessary. The purpose and need of a project is essential in establishing a basis for the development of the range of reasonable alternatives required in an EIS and assists with the identification and eventual selection of a preferred alternative. The purpose of the proposed project is to improve connectivity, reduce congestion, and improve safety within the South County Connector study area. The proposed improvements would address several needs: Improve roadway connectivity between south St. Louis County, south St. Louis City, and central St. Louis County, improve access to Interstate 44, and facilitate improved access to Interstates 55, 64, and 170 Reduce congestion on the roadway network (such as Shrewsbury Avenue, Lansdowne Avenue and Murdoch Avenue) and improve traffic conditions for the adjacent residential neighborhoods Provide transportation system capacity to respond to current and reasonably foreseeable travel demand in the region Improve safety throughout the roadway network through a more efficient transportation system ALTERNATIVES The alternatives produced by this study are the result of an extensive public and agency coordination process, combined with environmental and technical analyses. There were a wide range of initial alternative concepts considered as a part of the EIS process. Many of the concepts were derived from some of the earlier planning studies in the project area. No Build, Transportation System Management (TSM) and five Build Alternative corridors were considered and put through a two-stage screening process designed to determine which alternatives to retain for detailed analysis. Initial Screening The alternatives were first screened for how well they could meet the study’s purpose and need. Table 3-2 on page 3-6 of the Draft EIS depicts the results of the initial screening process. The five proposed roadway corridors, as well as No Build and Transportation System Management (solutions such as improved signal timing), were evaluated for their ability to: Improve north-south access Improve interstate access Reduce congestion on existing roadway network Reduce delays at existing intersections Improve traffic conditions on residential neighborhoods Provide capacity to meet current and future travel demand Improve safety at high accident locations April 2013 S-3 Summary South County Connector Draft Environmental Impact Statement This initial screening also included how well the corridors could address other goals, such as leveraging transit and economic development opportunities. Based on the results of initial screening, the River Des Peres Boulevard and South Outer Road corridors advanced to secondary screening; the remaining corridors were eliminated. Secondary Screening The River Des Peres Boulevard and South Outer Road corridors then underwent a secondary screening process, where they were compared against one another relative to social and economic impacts, environmental impacts, and feasibility to construct. There were multiple criteria in each category. For instance, social and economic impacts included right-of-way, residential relocations, business relocations, environmental justice, community cohesion, changes in access, and economic development opportunities. Table 3-3 on page 3-11 of the Draft EIS depicts the results of the secondary screening process. Alternatives Carried Forward for Detailed Analysis Based on results from both the initial and secondary screenings, it was determined that the River Des Peres Boulevard Corridor would be carried forward into detailed analysis. Accordingly, the study area was revised to incorporate this corridor as shown in Figure 3 (new study area is shaded in gray; the original study area boundary is in orange). This corridor alternative was divided into the following sections, which are also depicted in Figure 3: Northern Section – An alignment north of Deer Creek through Deer Creek Center was carried forward for further analysis. Central Section – Alignments through the Big Bend Industrial Court and through the Laclede Gas property will both be carried forward for detailed study. An option for a new full interchange with Interstate 44 was also carried forward. Southern Section – An alignment that runs through the Shrewsbury MetroLink Station parking lot was carried forward for further analysis. Southern Terminus - An alignment that connects directly to River Des Peres Boulevard was carried forward and also included considerations for improved connectivity to Mackenzie Road. Even though the No Build Alternative does not meet the purpose and need of improving north south connectivity, reducing congestion, or improving safety, this alternative was carried forward for further evaluation in the EIS and serves as a benchmark against which the impacts of other alternatives can be compared. April 2013 S-4 Summary South County Connector Draft Environmental Impact Statement Figure 3: Revised Study Area April 2013 S-5 Summary South County Connector Draft Environmental Impact Statement TRAFFIC STUDIES Once the alternative corridors were narrowed to the River Des Peres Boulevard Corridor, more detailed traffic studies were conducted, which included a travel demand model to determine the changes to regional travel patterns caused by the proposed action. The travel demand model is maintained by the East-West Gateway Council of Governments (EWGCOG). EWGCOG uses the CUBE Voyager1 model platform for highway modeling. This program incorporates socioeconomic data and the highway network to estimate traffic demands. Three scenarios were analyzed: No Build, Low-Build (4-Lane Road, 40 mph design speed) and High-Build (6- Lane Road, 45 mph design speed). The modeling revealed several consequences of building the South County Connector: Traffic will decrease on several area roadways including Marshall, Lansdowne and Shrewsbury