NEPA Scoping Report
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Bruckner-Sheridan Expressway Interchange and Hunts Point Peninsula Access EIS (Design Phases I-IV) NEPA Scoping Report August 2007 Design Report/Environmental Impact Statement (Design Phases I-IV) D010319 P.I.N. X730.39 Route I-278 / I-895 U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Table of Contents NEPA Scoping Report A. Introduction....................................................................................................................... 1 B. Background and Problem Definition ................................................................................ 1 Deficiencies at Interchange ................................................................................................... 2 Hunts Point Access Difficulties ............................................................................................ 2 C. How Goals, Objectives, and Performance Measures were Developed............................. 2 D. Alternatives Considered During Scoping ......................................................................... 3 E. Process Used to Evaluate the Alternatives........................................................................ 5 Ranking of Objectives.......................................................................................................5 Qualitative Screening ......................................................................................................... 6 Quantitative Screening .......................................................................................................7 F. Public/Agency Participation ............................................................................................. 9 G. Alternatives Moving Forward to the DEIS..................................................................... 11 TOC-1 August 20, 2007 Bruckner-Sheridan Interchange Reconstruction Project List of Tables 1 Project Goals and Objectives ......................................................................................................3 2 Proposed Alternatives After Public Hearings and Comment Period...........................................4 3 Ranking of Objectives for Screening Alternatives......................................................................6 4 Qualitative Screening of Alternatives .........................................................................................8 5 Scoring Summary for Quantitative Screening.............................................................................9 6 Public Outreach Activities...........................................................................................................9 Appendices Appendix A ..................................................................................................................................12 • Stakeholders List • Technical Advisory Committee List • Ranking of Objectives – Respondents List • Qualitative Screening Expert Panels - Respondents List Appendix B……………………………………………………………………………………. 25 • Final Conceptual Alternatives August 20, 2007 2 NEPA Scoping Report A. INTRODUCTION This report summarizes the Scoping Process, pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), for the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) Bruckner-Sheridan Interchange Reconstruction and Hunts Point Peninsula Access Improvement Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). It concludes with the selection of alternatives which will be included in the project’s Draft EIS (DEIS) and therefore the report also serves to document the closing of the Scoping Process. The NEPA Scoping Process began on February 20, 2003 when a Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS was published in the Federal Register by the Federal Highway Administration. A Draft Briefing Document for the project was published and made available to the public and other interested groups and public agencies in March 2003. The Draft Briefing Document included an initial purpose and need statement as well as a preliminary set of goals and objectives, project alternatives and environmental analyses to be conducted in the EIS. Two public scoping hearings were held in March 2003 and, as discussed below, public participation and agency coordination has continued throughout the Scoping Process. A Final Briefing Document, which responded to comments received during the scoping hearings and subsequent comment period, was issued on August 7, 2003. It is currently posted on the project’s website. B. BACKGROUND AND PROBLEM DEFINITION This project is being undertaken to address the operational, geometric, and safety issues related to the existing bottleneck situation at the interchange of the Sheridan Expressway (I-895) and the Bruckner Expressway (I-278). More than 130,000 vehicles use these expressways every day. The project is also intended to address vehicular access between the expressway system and the Hunts Point Peninsula. The peninsula, which is home to three of the largest food markets in the world, is a major economic focal point of the Bronx and as such is a significant traffic generator in the area. The Hunts Point Peninsula alone generates 77,000 vehicles per day, including 15,000 trucks. Studies addressing the transportation deficiencies in the Hunts Point area began as far back as 1986 with the completion of the Bruckner-Sheridan Interchange and Hunts Point Access Study. Following the release of this study, several other studies on transportation and access in the Hunts Point area were completed. The current effort began in earnest with the publication the NYSDOT’s Expanded Project Proposal (EPP) in 1997 for the Bruckner-Sheridan Expressway Interchange Improvements and was used as the starting point for the NEPA process. Through meetings and discussions with agencies and project stakeholders, several additional options were considered and later formalized onto nine alternatives for evaluation. The problems with the interchange and Hunts Point Access are summarized below: 1 August 20, 2007 Bruckner-Sheridan Interchange Reconstruction Project DEFICIENCIES AT INTERCHANGE The existing interchange suffers from geometric and operational deficiencies with resulting safety issues and a bottleneck condition which slows traffic flow on I-278 at this location. There is a severe grade-change as the Bruckner Expressway goes from being an elevated roadway (west of the interchange) to an at-grade facility to the east; at the same location there is a fairly sharp curve in the Bruckner Expressway's mainline and service roads; finally, the expressway narrows from 3 lanes to 2 lanes in each direction at the interchange. HUNTS POINT ACCESS DIFFICULTIES The interchange is located adjacent to the Hunts Point Peninsula, where currently three of the world's largest food distribution centers (Produce, Meat and Fish markets) are operating simultaneously, as well as a large number of other industrial, public utility, institutional, and commercial entities and a moderately large residential enclave. Existing access between the peninsula and the interstate highway system is poor, with vehicles—particularly trucks—having to travel circuitously on local roads before encountering access or egress points to the expressways. C. HOW GOALS, OBJECTIVES, AND PERFORMANCE MEASURES WERE DEVELOPED During the course of previous studies, and prior to the public scoping hearings, NYSDOT held several open houses in the Bronx and meetings with community boards, along with discussions with community groups and local businesses. From these efforts, NYSDOT gained an initial understanding of what issues were of most concern to community members, business groups, planning agencies and other stakeholders. Comments received at the project’s public scoping hearings and subsequent comment period, provided NYSDOT with additional insight into the issues of concern in the area relevant to the proposed project and modified the initial set of project goals and objectives. Performance measures for each objective were then defined. The performance measures, which assess the degree to which an objective is attained, were used in the quantitative screening described below. One or more performance measures were defined for each objective. A performance measure is used to assess the degree to which the objective is attained. Measures are selected that can be observed and predicted, and that can distinguish differences among alternatives. The project’s Final Briefing Document identified eight goals and supporting objectives as shown in Table 1. August 20, 2007 2 NEPA Scoping Report Table 1 Project Goals and Objectives Goal Objective 1 Improve 1.1 Minimize travel delays within the primary study area Transportation 1.2 Minimize delays resulting from incidents on expressways System Efficiency and Reliability 1.3 Enhance traffic network infrastructure 1.4 Promote public transit service 1.5 Improve bicycle and pedestrian travel 2 Enhance Quality of 2.1 Reduce the number of trucks on local streets Life 2.2 Improve access to parks 2.3 Minimize disruption to the community resulting from highway construction and operation 3 Support Economic 3.1 Provide direct truck access to Hunts Point peninsula markets Development 3.2 Maintain and improve rail freight service to South Bronx industries and Hunts Point Markets 3.3 Reduce truck miles and hours traveled 3.4 Promote waterborne freight access to Hunts Point 4 Reduce Accidents 4.1 Increase pedestrian safety and reduce accidents, accident rates, and severity at busy primary study area