Re-evaluation for King Coal Highway, Airport Road (WV 123) to John Nash Blvd (US 52) Project State Project: X328-52/-11.16 SEC 11 Federal Project: NFA-2417(002) May 2018 West Virginia Department of Transportation, Division of Highways and Federal Highway Administration Table of Contents 1.0 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background ................................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 King Coal Highway Useable Sections Defined ............................................................................... 1 1.3 Re-Evaluation - King Coal Highway, Airport Road (WV 123) to John Nash Blvd (US 52) Project ............ 3 2.0 Project Purpose and Need ................................................................................................................ 3 3.0 King Coal Project History ................................................................................................................... 3 3.1 1992-1997 King Coal Highway Location Studies ........................................................................... 3 3.2 1997- 2000 King Coal Highway NEPA Studies ............................................................................... 4 3.3 2000 King Coal Highway Record of Decision ................................................................................. 4 3.4 2001-2011 Design and Construction of the US 460/US 52 Interchange ....................................... 4 3.5 2018 Re-Evaluation Project: Airport Road (WV 123) to John Nash Boulevard (US 52) ................ 6 4.0 Affected Environment and Environmental Consequences ............................................................... 7 4.1 Residential and Business Units ..................................................................................................... 8 4.2 Environmental Justice ................................................................................................................... 8 4.3 Section 106 Resources .................................................................................................................. 8 4.4 Air Quality ..................................................................................................................................... 8 4.5 Noise ............................................................................................................................................. 8 4.5.1 Introduction to Noise Analysis .................................................................................................. 9 4.5.2 Noise Impacts ............................................................................................................................ 9 4.5.3 Traffic Noise Abatement Analysis ............................................................................................. 9 4.5.4 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 10 4.6 Federal RTE Species .................................................................................................................... 10 4.6.1 2000-2009 ............................................................................................................................... 10 4.6.2 2018 Re-Evaluation Assessment ............................................................................................. 11 4.7 Stream and Wetland Impacts ..................................................................................................... 11 4.7.1 Streams ...................................................................................................................................... 11 4.7.2 Wetlands .................................................................................................................................... 12 4.7.3 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 12 5.0 FHWA Decision ................................................................................................................................ 12 Attachment A – FHWA Correspondence on the King Coal Highway and Coalfields Highway Projects Attachment B – Contract Plans Attachment C – 2018 Historic Resources Letter Report Attachment D – SHPO Correspondence Attachment E – 2000 King Coal Highway Record of Decision Attachment F – USFWS and WVDNR Correspondence Attachment G – 2017 Botanical Survey Re-evaluation for King Coal Highway, Airport Road (WV 123) to John Nash Blvd (US 52) Project 1.0 Introduction 1.1 Background In 1991, the U.S. Congress determined that a National Highway System corridor was needed to connect the Great Lakes and the coast of the Carolinas. Known as the Interstate 73–Interstate 74 North–South Corridor, the roadway stretches from northern Michigan to South Carolina, passing through several states, including West Virginia. The multilane corridor was listed as a high priority in 1995, and the West Virginia Department of Transportation (DOT) Division of Highways (DOH) was tasked with constructing a portion. West Virginia’s portion of the new, partially controlled- access corridor extends a total of approximately 150 miles from Huntington, WV to Bluefield, WV and is divided into two distinct sections: • Section 1. The Tolsia Highway, which starts at the interchange with I-64, south of Huntington in Wayne County, and extends approximately 51 miles south to a terminus at the intersection with US- 119, north of Williamson in Mingo County; and • Section 2. The King Coal Highway, which continues approximately 95 miles southeast from Williamson, WV to a terminus at the interchange with I-77 near Bluefield, WV. The Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the King Coal Highway was circulated and approved on June 6, 2000, and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) issued its Record of Decision (ROD) on August 24, 2000. 1.2 King Coal Highway Useable Sections Defined Following issuance of the ROD, WVDOH requested that FHWA concur with its identification of separate projects (sections) within the 95-mile long King Coal Highway “that will, when completed, be useable sections that can be constructed within a reasonable period of time” (Attachment A). In its January 3, 2001 response letter, FHWA notified WVDOH that it concurred with the DOH’s identification of separate, useable projects of the King Coal Highway (Attachment A). FHWA reaffirmed this concurrence on February 22, 2018 during the WVDOH Agency Partnering Meeting. Those King Coal Highway useable projects are listed from north to south below, and are shown in Figure 1. 1. US 52/US 119 to Belo (Project Complete) 2. Belo to Delbarton 3. Williamson Connector 4. Delbarton to Red Jacket 5. Red Jacket to Mountain View (Project Complete) 6. Mountain View to Gilbert Cr. Connector 7. Gilbert Creek Connector to US 52 8. US 52 to King Coal/Coalfields Interchange 9. King Coal/Coalfields Interchange to Northfork 10. Northfork to Montcalm 11. Montcalm to Littlesburg 12. Littlesburg to Airport Road (WV 123) 13. Airport Road (WV 123) to John Nash Blvd (US 52) (this Re-evaluation project) 14. John Nash Blvd (US 52) to Interstate 77 (Project Complete) Page 1 Re-evaluation for King Coal Highway, Airport Road (WV 123) to John Nash Blvd (US 52) Project Figure 1- Approved King Coal Highway Projects. (Note: The numbers above the sections in this figure do not match those on page 1; they refer to the WVDOH prioritization for construction as of the date of this Re-evaluation document.) Page 2 Re-evaluation for King Coal Highway, Airport Road (WV 123) to John Nash Blvd (US 52) Project 1.3 Re-Evaluation - King Coal Highway, Airport Road (WV 123) to John Nash Blvd (US 52) Project FHWA regulations, 23 CFR 771. 129 require a written re-evaluation prior to the request for FHWA action/approval (e.g., final design or construction) when: • a time lag of three or more years has occurred without major action or; • changes have been made relative to the project, to the affected environment or in Federal or state regulations have occurred between the previous National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) approval and a request for new FHWA approval/action. Considerably more than three years has passed since the last major actions involving the King Coal Highway within the Bluefield project area has occurred (i.e., 2003- 2011 design and construction of the US 460/US 52 Interchange). Additionally, regulatory changes (e.g., stream definitions, FHWA Section 4(f) provisions, FHWA noise regulations, etc.) that may affect the previous impact analyses have also occurred. This environmental re-evaluation has been prepared for the approximately three (2.9) mile long Airport Road (WV 123) to John Nash Blvd (US 52) Project. Its purpose is to determine if changes in the project, project area, or project impacts will require supplemental environmental documentation (e.g., a supplemental EIS). 2.0 Project Purpose and Need As detailed in the 2000 EIS, the “King Coal Highway Project’s purposes are: to develop a transportation system with minimal geometric constraints; to minimize conflict between interstate/inter-county traffic and local traffic; to minimize conflict between truck traffic and local traffic, residential areas, and towns; to decrease travel times within the study area; to provide Level of Service (LOS) C within the local