ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT Job 100682
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ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT Job 100682 Future Interstate 555 Access Road Study (U.S. Highway 63) Poinsett County by U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration and Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK Table of Contents Page No. PROJECT DESCRIPTION.............................................................................................. 1 PURPOSE AND NEED................................................................................................... 1 Purpose of the Project...................................................................................................................... 1 Needs Analysis ................................................................................................................................ 1 Existing Highway Conditions............................................................................................................ 5 Future Highway Conditions.............................................................................................................. 5 ALTERNATIVES............................................................................................................. 5 Alternatives Considered and Dismissed .......................................................................................... 8 Alternatives Under Consideration .................................................................................................... 8 AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES ............... 10 Land Use........................................................................................................................................ 10 Social and Economic Environment ................................................................................................ 11 Environmental Justice and Title VI................................................................................................. 11 Right of Way - Relocations ............................................................................................................ 12 Public Recreational Lands [Section 4(f) and Section 6(f) Properties]............................................ 12 Public Services and Utilities........................................................................................................... 13 Wild and Scenic Rivers .................................................................................................................. 14 Threatened and Endangered Species (including state listed sensitive species)........................... 14 Hazardous Materials ...................................................................................................................... 16 Geology and Seismicity.................................................................................................................. 17 Farmlands ...................................................................................................................................... 17 Floodplains..................................................................................................................................... 18 Wetlands and Waters of the United States.................................................................................... 19 Public/Private Water Supplies........................................................................................................ 24 Archaeological/Historical................................................................................................................ 24 Noise .............................................................................................................................................. 25 Air Quality....................................................................................................................................... 27 Natural and Visual Environment .................................................................................................... 29 COMMENTS AND COORDINATION............................................................................ 31 Public Involvement ......................................................................................................................... 33 Agency Coordination...................................................................................................................... 33 RECOMMENDED PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE ........................................................ 34 COMMITMENTS ........................................................................................................... 34 AHTD Job Number 100682 I Environmental Assessment Appendices Appendix A: Agency Coordination Appendix B: Potamilus capax Survey Report Appendix C: Hazardous Materials Appendix D: Noise Technical Report Appendix E: Public Involvement List of Figures Page No. Figure 1: Project Location Map ..................................................................................................................... 2 Figure 2: Typical Roadway Section .............................................................................................................. 3 Figure 3: Detour Map .................................................................................................................................... 4 Figure 4: Alternatives Map ............................................................................................................................ 7 Figure 5: Overhead Transmission Lines North of Highway 63 ................................................................... 14 Figure 6: Ditch 60........................................................................................................................................ 21 Figure 7: Ditch 61........................................................................................................................................ 21 Figure 8: Sand Slough ................................................................................................................................ 22 Figure 9: St. Francis River .......................................................................................................................... 22 Figure 10: Inundated Wetland Along Alternative A..................................................................................... 23 Figure 11: Bottomland Hardwoods Along Alternative A.............................................................................. 23 Figure 12: Noise Sensitive Receivers ......................................................................................................... 26 Figure 13: Agricultural Field ........................................................................................................................ 30 Figure 14: Bottomland Hardwoods in the St. Francis Sunken Lands ......................................................... 30 Figure 15: Existing Visual Conditions ......................................................................................................... 31 Figure 16: Post-construction Visual Conditions .......................................................................................... 31 Figure 17: Existing Visual Conditions ......................................................................................................... 32 Figure 18: Post-construction Visual Conditions .......................................................................................... 32 List of Tables Page No. Table 1: Alternative Screening Summary ..................................................................................................... 6 Table 2: Estimated Right of Way and Relocations ..................................................................................... 12 Table 3: Fill in Zone A Special Flood Hazard Areas ................................................................................... 18 Table 4: Stream and Wetlands Impacts...................................................................................................... 20 Table 5: National Ambient Air Quality Standards........................................................................................ 28 AHTD Job Number 100682 II Environmental Assessment PROJECT DESCRIPTION As directed by Congress, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), in cooperation with the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department (AHTD), is studying an access road located between Marked Tree and Payneway, Arkansas, in Poinsett County. This highway access road is proposed to be located adjacent to Highway 63 which will be converted to Interstate 555 (I-555) in the near future. Figure 1 shows the study area. The proposed project includes six bridges, which will span the St. Francis River and numerous waterbodies within the St. Francis Sunken Lands (Sunken Lands). The roadway typical cross- section (Figure 2) consists of two ten-foot (3.0 meter) wide travel lanes, one in each direction, with four-foot (1.2 meter) wide outside shoulders. The total length of the proposed project is approximately 4.7 miles (7.6 kilometers). PURPOSE AND NEED Purpose of the Project The purpose of the proposed project is to construct an access road that will provide an alternate route across the Sunken Lands once access control has been established to convert Highway 63 to I-555. Needs Analysis Highway 63, future I-555, provides the only transportation artery across the Sunken Lands in the study area. Once this existing highway is converted to interstate standards,