Haines Highway
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
HAINES HIGHWAY MP 3.5 TO MP 25.3 HAINES, ALASKA FINAL REVISED ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT, FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT, AND SECTION 4(f) EVALUATION August 2016 DOT&PF Project No. Z686060000 FEDERAL Project No. 0956028 NOTICE: PROJECT NAME CHANGE Throughout the development of this project it has been known by the name Haines Highway MP 3.5 to MP 25.3. The title of the project has been corrected to be more accurate. The old title is used throughout this Final Revised Environmental Assessment and associated documents, but the formal name of the project moving forward is Haines Highway Reconstruction Milepost 3.9 to 25.0. The area studied remains exactly the same, only the title has changed. TITLE VI POLICY STATEMENT The State of Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities hereby gives public notice that it is the policy of the State of Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities to assure full compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987, and related statutes and regulations in all programs and activities. Title VI and related nondiscrimination statutes requires that no person in the United States of America shall, on the grounds of race, color, sex, national origin, disability, or age, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be otherwise subjected to discrimination under any program or activity for which the State of Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities receives federal financial assistance. Persons with hearing impairments may call 1-800-770-8973. LIMITATION OF CLAIMS NOTICE Per Section 1308 of the Federal Highway Administration Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), a Federal agency may publish a notice in the Federal Register, pursuant to 23 USC §139(l)(1), indicating that one or more Federal agencies have taken final action on permits, licenses, or approvals for a transportation project. If such notice is published, claims seeking judicial review of those Federal agency actions will be barred unless such claims are filed within 150 days after the date of publication of the notice, or within such shorter time period as is specified in the Federal laws pursuant to which judicial review of the Federal agency action is allowed. If no notice is published, then the periods of time that otherwise are provided by the Federal laws governing such claims will apply. (This Page Left Intentionally Blank) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY BACKGROUND The Haines Highway begins in Haines, Alaska and ends in Haines Junction, Yukon Territory, Canada. The project area is primarily located along the eastern side of the Chilkat River from Milepost 3.5, near the Haines Airport, to Milepost 25.3, north of Klukwan and the Chilkat River Bridge. Except for the project area, the Haines Highway in Alaska is constructed to a 55 mile- per-hour standard, e.g. a total pavement width of 36 feet and curves that allow a vehicle to travel safely at 55 miles per hour under normal weather conditions. The highway generally follows a travel corridor used for centuries by the Chilkat Tlingit as well as the Dalton Trail established in the 1890s from Haines to Klukshu Lake in the Yukon Territory (Gates, 2012). Haines Highway was originally constructed in 1943 and has been periodically upgraded over the years, with the portion from the Bluffs (Milepost 25.3) to the Canadian border (Milepost 40) being the most recently upgraded in 2000. The State of Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, in partnership with Federal Highway Administration—Alaska Division proposes to upgrade Haines Highway from Milepost 3.5 to Milepost 25.3 to be consistent with the upgraded portions on either side of the proposed project (from Milepost 1 to Milepost 3.5 and from Milepost 25 to the border). This Final Revised Environmental Assessment was prepared in response to comments received on the Draft Revised Environmental Assessment issued in October 2015 and the public review Environmental Assessment released in July 2013. Comments from the public and agencies stated that the July 2013 Environmental Assessment Proposed Action would result in unacceptable impacts to Chilkat Valley’s resources, in particular to fish habitat in the Chilkat River and the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve. The Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve is near and adjacent to the Haines Highway from about Milepost 10 through Milepost 23.5. The State of Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities and Federal Highway Administration considered all comments received and developed a Revised Proposed Action that further avoided and minimized impacts to bald eagle and fish habitat; resources of particular concern to residents of Haines and Klukwan. Additional measures have been added to mitigate for impacts to the Chilkat River bank from the proposed hardening of the upgraded roadway embankments. Haines Highway MP 3.5 to MP 25.3 Final Revised EA Page I DOT&PF/Federal Project Nos. Z686060000/0956028 Purpose and Need for the Project The Haines Highway is a major highway linking Southeast Alaska with the intercontinental network of roads and is the primary surface transportation link between Southeast Alaska and Interior Alaska. The Haines Highway originates in Haines, Alaska and ends at its intersection with the Alaska Highway in Haines Junction, Yukon Territory, Canada. The purpose of this project is to address: • highway deficiencies between Milepost 3.5 and Milepost 25.3; • bridge deficiencies; • highway instability and temporary closures caused by debris and water flooding; and • recreational access deficiencies. To be consistent with the rest of the Haines Highway from Haines to the Canadian border, the portion of the highway between Milepost 3.5 and Milepost 25.3 would be brought up to design standards for a 55 mile-per-hour design speed. Specific deficiencies are discussed Section 2.0, Purpose and Need. Revised Proposed Action The Revised Proposed Action has been developed to address the needs for the project while avoiding or minimizing environmental impacts. As noted above, the Revised Proposed Action was developed to address comments received from the public and agencies after release of the July 2013 Environmental Assessment. A summary of changes to potential impacts that have come about from the highway design changes is given in the following table (Table ES-1). Page II Haines Highway MP 3.5 to MP 25.3 Final Revised EA DOT&PF/Federal Project Nos. Z686060000/0956028 Table ES-1: Effects of Main Design Changes between the July 2013 Environmental Assessment and the Revised Proposed Alignment Design Change Effect Reduced the right-of-way acquisition within the Preserve from 3.8 acres to 2.98 acres Reduced fill in the Chilkat River from 7.7 acres to 3.6 acres Reduced fill in wetlands from 23.6 acres to 22.2 acres, including a reduction of fill in 0.9 Reduced the extent of passing zones by acre of high value wetlands near Milepost 10 retaining some existing curves Reduced the linear feet of fill in the Chilkat River from 15,550 linear feet to 12,662 linear feet Increased the fill in tributary streams by 720 linear feet Shifted alignment in the Milepost 4 area away Avoided impacts to cultural resources from the uphill side of the road In addition to design changes, the State of Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities performed supplemental environmental analyses and proposed additional mitigation measures to compensate for the proposed impacts. The additional design changes and environmental studies undertaken as a result of public and agency comments include: • minimizing the amount of clearing required adjacent to the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve, • conducting further environmental studies to address the potential to impact to bald eagles in the project area and to determine the likelihood of significant impacts to bald eagles; the results of the studies indicate no significant impact to bald eagles would likely occur as a result of the project, • proposing a new turnout at Milepost 20.5 to mitigate for impacts to eagle viewing within the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve; in supplemental environmental surveys, this location was found to be a popular area of concentration for bald eagles, and • proposing additional mitigation features that include woody debris, rocks and vegetated riverbanks outboard of rock embankment. These features have been developed in consultation with Alaska Department of Fish and Game, United States Fish and Wildlife Haines Highway MP 3.5 to MP 25.3 Final Revised EA Page III DOT&PF/Federal Project Nos. Z686060000/0956028 Service and National Marine Fisheries Service. These are measures to replace lost riverside fish habitat. The measures consist of installing systems composed of logs, root wads, and boulders selectively placed in and on the riverbank. These systems would support restoration of slope vegetation, modulation of flow velocities and deposition of in-stream sediments for fish habitat. Public and agency suggestions were made to reduce the design speed standard of 55 miles per hour throughout the highway or at least in the Critical Habitat Area of the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve. As discussed in more detail in Section 3.0, Alternatives, the State of Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities and the Federal Highway Administration evaluated whether this was a prudent way to minimize impacts. That evaluation concluded that factors including the classification of Haines Highway as a principal arterial, the rolling terrain, the relatively few number of driveways and approach roads, and the operating speeds of motorists on the existing road, all indicate that an appropriate minimum design speed is 55 miles per hour. The Revised Proposed Action includes the following components. Improvements to Haines Highway • Realign sections of the highway and straighten some curves to meet 55 mile-per-hour design standards, with the exception of two curves, and add passing zones (See Figure Set A).