SECTION 3 AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT, ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES, AND MITIGATION 3.14 TRANSPORTATION The regional transportation network in and around the Project Area is managed by several jurisdictions, including Harney County, individual communities within the County, and the state of Oregon. There is also an extensive network of private roads and public access roads on land administered by Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) that provide access to large parcels of rangeland in and around the project area. This section describes the existing transportation network and how the proposed Project would affect that network during the short-term construction phase and during long-term operation. 3.14.1 Methodology This section was prepared using information from a variety of federal, state, and local planning documents sources, including: Oregon Department of Transportation website. Harney County Transportation System Plan. Three River Resource Management Plan. Andrews Management Unit Resource Management Plan. Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Area Resource Management Plan. Steens Mountain Travel Management Plan Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Master Plan. Additional policy and procedural guidance was obtained from the following sources: Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended. BLM Land Use Planning Handbook (H-1601-1). BLM National Environmental Policy Act Handbook (H-1790-1). The information from these sources was used to assess the existing transportation conditions within the Project Area and to assess the short term and long terms effects of the Proposed Action, Action Alternatives, and the No Action Alternative on transportation within the Project Area. Where appropriate, mitigation measures have been identified to reduce or avoid anticipated adverse effects. The analysis also addresses several comments received from the public during the EIS scoping process. Comments from agency representatives, local organizations and private citizens requested that the following issues relevant to transportation be addressed in the EIS: Assessment of whether the money Harney County would receive from the project would be sufficient to offset the cost to repair County roads potentially damaged by heavy equipment during construction. Potential environmental effects of construction and maintenance of access roads and the passage of construction and maintenance vehicles. Inventory of existing road networks and evaluation of the potential change in road miles and density due to the project. 3.14-1 NORTH STEENS TRANSMISSION LINE EIS ADMINISTRATIVE DRAFT JUNE 2010 3.14.2 Affected Environment For the purposes of this analysis, the Project Area was defined to include the area within the 150-foot wide transmission line ROW and all areas affected by the construction and operation of access roads, interconnection stations, substations, turbine towers, power collection systems, and other permanent and temporary project features, including temporary laydown areas and tensioning sites. However, the Project Area is located in a broader geographic region that is served by a network of state highways, county roads, private roads, and BLM and USFWS service roads. Each component of the regional transportation network is described below. 3.14.2.1 State Highways The state highway system forms the primary roadway network within the Project Area (Figure 3.14-1). In Harney County, the state highway system serves statewide, regional, and local traffic demands. The main routes in Harney County include US Highway 20 (Central Oregon Highway) and US Highway 395 (John Day-Burns and Lakeview-Burns Highways). US Highway 395 runs north-south connecting Lakeview (Lake County) with John Day (Grant County). Oregon State Highway 78 (Steens Highway) begins in Burns and continues southeast to US Highway 95 in Malheur County. Oregon State Highway 205 (Frenchglen Highway) begins outside of Burns and continues about 20 mile south of Frenchglen where it transitions to a County road (Catlow Valley Road) that continues south to the Nevada border. US Highway 20 Highway 20 is the main east-west highway through central Oregon and is designated a highway of statewide importance. It begins in Newport, on the Oregon coast and continues through the cities of Corvallis, Albany, Lebanon, Bend, Burns, and Nyssa before continuing into Idaho. Throughout Harney County, Highway 20 is primarily a two-lane roadway with a speed limit of 55 mph, except in the cities of Burns and Hines where the roadway varies between two and five lanes and the speed varies between 25 and 45 mph. The highway has three westbound and three eastbound passing lanes in the county. Roadway shoulders on both sides of the highway are typically four to six feet wide and partially paved; however, some sections of the highway have shoulders in excess of six feet in width. Pavement conditions on Highway 20 range from “fair” for the segment between Hines and Riley, to “poor” and “very poor” for segments west of Riley (note: ODOT maps may not have been updated to reflect paving conducted in 2009) (ODOT 2008a). Traffic operations along the rural highway sections of Highway 20 are characterized by relatively free flow conditions with some stops at signalized intersections within the community of Burns. In 2008, average annual daily traffic (AADT) volumes for all vehicles along Highway 20 were approximately 1,400 AADT west of Riley and approximately 1,700 AADT east of Riley. The section of Highway 20 that passes through Burns and Hines carried the greatest volumes of traffic in Harney County with volumes as high as 7,600 AADT in Burns. East of the junction with Highway 395, traffic levels declined to 1,400 AADT and to 1,100 AADT at the Harney-Malheur County Line. (ODOT 2008b) In 2008, the accident rates (i.e. crashes per million vehicle miles) for the rural segments of Highway 20 in Harney County west of Burns ranged from 0.56 to 0.62 and were about the same as the 0.57 statewide average for highways in rural Oregon. The accident rates for segments of Highway 20 east of Hines ranged from 0.50 to 0.60. The accident rates for the urban segments of Highway 20 through Burns and Hines ranged from .62 to 2.74. The 2.74 rate reflects the 10 crashes that occurred on the 1.4 mile segment between the western city limits of Burns and the junction at Highway 78. This rate was substantially higher than the 1.09 statewide average for highways in rural cities (ODOT 2008c). 3.14-2 SECTION 3 AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT, ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES, AND MITIGATION Figure 3.14-1 State highway system forms the primary roadway network within the Project Area. 3.14-3 NORTH STEENS TRANSMISSION LINE EIS ADMINISTRATIVE DRAFT JUNE 2010 US Highway 395 Highway 395 runs north-south through eastern Oregon from California to Washington, and north and south of its junctions with Highway 20 is designated a highway of statewide importance. The highway is a two-lane roadway with a speed limit of 55 mph. Roadway shoulders on both sides of the highway are typically four to six feet wide and partially paved. Pavement conditions on Highway 395 between Highway 20 and Alkali Lake are rated “fair” and “poor” from Alkali Lake to the county line (ODOT 2008a). Traffic operations along the rural highway sections of Highway 395 are characterized by a relatively free flow of traffic with some stops at signalized or stop sign controlled intersections. Traffic volumes on Highway 395 in 2008 were 270 AADT at the Lake-Harney County Line and 470 AADT south of the Highway 20 junction. North of Highway 20, traffic volumes were 490 AADT and declined to 310 AADT at the Harney-Grant County Line (ODOT 2008b). In 2008, the only recorded accident rate for the rural segment of Highway 395 in Harney County south of Highway 20 was 2.42 (two crashes) on the segment of the highway between the Harney County line and the Malheur National Forest. This accident rate was substantially higher than the 0.57 statewide average for highways in rural Oregon. The accident rates for segments of Highway 395 north of Highway 20 ranged from 0.54 to 0.97 (ODOT 2008c). State Highway 78 Highway 78 is a highway of regional importance. Beginning within the Burns city limits, it extends southeast through Lawen, Crane, and Princeton, and continues across the Harney/Malheur County line. It is a two-lane roadway with a speed limit of 55 mph, except within the Burns city limits where the speed varies between 25 and 40 mph. The route is comprised of numerous curves and moderate grade changes resulting in localized speed reductions ranging from 35 to 45 mph. Extended segments of roadway shoulders on both sides of the highway vary in width from two to four and four to six feet and are typically partially paved. A few short shoulder segments are less than two feet wide. Pavement ratings on Highway 78 range from “good” to “very good” between Hines and the Malheur County line (ODOT 2008a). Traffic operations of mainstream traffic along the rural highway sections of Highway 78 are characterized by a relatively free flow of traffic. Traffic volumes on Highway 78 in 2008 were highest in Burns, east of the Highway 20 junction, where traffic volumes were 3,400 AADT. At Airport Road traffic volumes declined to 720 AADT, 500 AADT at Lawen, and 330 AADT at Lave Beds Road. Volumes declined to 230 AADT at the Harney/Malheur County line (ODOT 2008b). In 2008, accident rates for the rural segments of Highway 78 in Harney County between Burns and the county line ranged from 0.48 to 2.14, the later rate being substantially higher than the statewide average for highways in rural Oregon (0.57). The highest accident rate (four crashes) was recorded on the 23-mile segment of Highway 78 between Princeton and the Malheur County line (ODOT 2008c).