Record of Decision of the Environmental Impact Statement Mountain View Corridor Project in Salt Lake and Utah Counties by Federal Highway Administration, Utah Division in cooperation with Utah Department of Transportation UDOT Project No SP-067(3)0 FHWA-UT-EIS-07-2-F November 17, 2008 CONTENTS ▲▲ Contents 1.0 INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY .............................................................1 1.1 History..................................................................................................................5 2.0 DECISION..................................................................................................7 2.1 Roadway Component ...........................................................................................8 2.1.1 5800 West Freeway Alternative (Salt Lake County)..............................9 2.1.2 2100 North Freeway Alternative (Utah County)..................................11 2.2 Transit Component.............................................................................................14 2.3 Project Implementation ......................................................................................17 2.3.1 Roadway Component...........................................................................17 2.3.2 Transit Component...............................................................................22 2.4 Monitoring and Enforcement Program...............................................................22 2.5 Context-Sensitive Solutions ...............................................................................23 2.6 Mitigation Package (Minimize Harm)................................................................23 2.6.1 Mitigation Measures for Farmland Impacts .........................................24 2.6.2 Mitigation Measures for Community Impacts .....................................24 2.6.3 Mitigation Measures for Economic Impacts ........................................27 2.6.4 Mitigation Measures for Impacts to Considerations Relating to Pedestrians and Bicyclists ....................................................................28 2.6.5 Mitigation Measures for Air Quality Impacts ......................................28 2.6.6 Mitigation Measures for Noise Impacts ...............................................31 2.6.7 Mitigation Measures for Water Quality Impacts..................................34 2.6.8 Mitigation Measures for Ecosystem Impacts .......................................36 2.6.9 Wetlands...............................................................................................40 2.6.10 Mitigation Measures for Floodplain Impacts .......................................42 2.6.11 Mitigation Measures for Impacts to Historic, Archaeological, and Paleontological Resources.............................................................42 2.6.12 Mitigation Measures for Impacts to Hazardous Waste Sites................42 2.6.13 Mitigation Measures for Visual Impacts ..............................................43 2.6.14 Mitigation Measures for Construction Impacts....................................44 2.6.15 Mitigation Measures for Indirect Effects .............................................46 2.7 Next Steps ..........................................................................................................50 3.0 ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED...............................................................51 3.1 Project Purpose...................................................................................................51 3.2 Summary of the Alternative Development Process............................................52 3.2.1 Identification of Preliminary Alternatives............................................52 3.2.2 Alternatives Screening – Level 1 .........................................................53 3.2.3 Alternatives Screening – Level 2 .........................................................54 3.2.4 Alternative Screening Report...............................................................56 3.2.5 Refinement of Alternatives ..................................................................57 3.2.6 Reconsideration of the Utah County Alternatives................................59 3.3 Alternatives Considered for Detailed Study.......................................................62 3.3.1 No-Action Alternative..........................................................................62 3.3.2 Salt Lake County Alternatives .............................................................62 3.3.3 Utah County Alternatives.....................................................................63 3.3.4 Additional Evaluation of Alternatives after the Release of the Draft EIS ..............................................................................................64 ▼▼ MOUNTAIN VIEW CORRIDOR RECORD OF DECISION i CONTENTS ▲▲ 4.0 RATIONALE FOR THE SELECTED ALTERNATIVES...............................68 4.1 5800 West Freeway Alternative .........................................................................68 4.2 2100 North Freeway Alternative ........................................................................74 5.0 SECTION 4(F) DETERMINATION............................................................77 5.1 De Minimis Findings ..........................................................................................77 5.1.1 Salt Lake County..................................................................................78 5.1.2 Utah County .........................................................................................78 5.2 Section 4(f) Use (Non–De minimis) ...................................................................78 5.2.1 Consideration of Avoidance Alternatives ............................................82 5.2.2 Measures To Minimize Harm to Section 4(f) Properties ...................101 6.0 AIR QUALITY DOCUMENTATION........................................................104 6.1 Criteria Pollutants and Transportation Conformity ..........................................104 6.2 Mobile-Source Air Toxics................................................................................106 7.0 PERMITS, CERTIFICATIONS, AND APPROVALS ..................................107 8.0 STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS..................................................................107 9.0 COMMENTS ON THE FINAL EIS ..........................................................108 9.1 Summary of Comments....................................................................................109 10.0 CONCLUSION........................................................................................112 Figures Figure 1. 5800 West Freeway Alternative – Salt Lake County ..........................................2 Figure 2. 2100 North Freeway Alternative .........................................................................3 Figure 3. Transit Alignment – Dedicated Right-of-Way Transit Option..........................16 ▼▼ ii MOUNTAIN VIEW CORRIDOR RECORD OF DECISION CONTENTS ▲▲ Tables Table 2-1. Salt Lake County Lane Configuration – 5800 West Freeway Alternative............................................................................................................9 Table 2-2. Salt Lake County Cross Streets – 5800 West Freeway Alternative.................10 Table 2-3. Utah County Lane Configuration – 2100 North Freeway Alternative.............12 Table 2-4. Utah County Cross Streets – 2100 North Freeway Alternative.......................13 Table 3-1. Level 1 Screening – Alternatives or Actions Eliminated.................................54 Table 3-2. Results of Level 2 Screening...........................................................................55 Table 3-3. Results of Alternatives Refinement and Reconsideration Processes...............61 Table 4-1. Comparison of Total Wetland Impacts from the Salt Lake County Freeway Alternatives..........................................................................................69 Table 4-2. Comparison of Impacts to Playa Wetlands in Salt Lake County.....................69 Table 5-1. De Minimis Impacts – Salt Lake County Alternatives ....................................79 Table 5-2. De Minimis Impacts – Utah County Alternatives............................................80 Table 5-3. Section 4(f) Uses – Salt Lake County Alternatives .........................................81 Table 5-4. Comparison of Wetland Impacts from the Salt Lake County Freeway Alternatives ........................................................................................................97 Table 5-5. Comparison of Home and Business Relocations from the Salt Lake County Freeway Alternatives .............................................................................98 Appendices Appendix A. Transit Resolution Appendix B. Comments and Responses for the Final EIS ▼▼ MOUNTAIN VIEW CORRIDOR RECORD OF DECISION iii CONTENTS ▲▲ This page is intentionally blank. ▼▼ iv MOUNTAIN VIEW CORRIDOR RECORD OF DECISION 1.0 INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY ▲▲ 1.0 Introduction and Summary This document is the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Record of Decision (ROD) for the proposed Mountain View Corridor (MVC) project located in Salt Lake and Utah Counties, Utah. For the MVC project, the project purpose addressed separate needs for Salt Lake County (north-south travel demand) and Utah County (east-west and north-south travel demand). Therefore, alternatives were developed for each county that would connect at the county line to provide a complete transportation solution.