I-285 Top End Express Lanes Scoping Report July 2020 July 30, 2020 Project: I-285 Top End Express Lanes, GDOT PI No. 0001758 SCOPING Cobb, Fulton, REPORT and DeKalb Counties GDOT Major Mobility Investment Program (MMIP) I-285 TOP END EXPRESS LANES | SCOPING REPORT Federal Highway Administration and Georgia Department of Transportation Document Classification Level: Draft Working Document. Not for Public Dissemination JULY 2020 i I-285 TOP END EXPRESS LANES | SCOPING REPORT CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 1 2. PROJECT OVERVIEW ................................................................................................ 2 INITIAL PLANNING AND PROJECT BACKGROUND .......................................... 2 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT ............................................................ 4 SCOPING PROCESS .......................................................................................... 5 2.3.1 COOPERATING AGENCIES ................................................................................................. 6 2.3.2 PARTICIPATING AGENCIES ................................................................................................. 6 2.3.3 FEDERALLY RECOGNIZED TRIBES ........................................................................................ 7 2.3.4 SECTION 106 CONSULTATION ............................................................................................. 8 SCHEDULE .......................................................................................................... 8 3. ONE FEDERAL DECISION ......................................................................................... 9 PROCEDURES FOR ONE FEDERAL DECISION .................................................... 9 ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW UNDER ONE FEDERAL DECISION ......................... 10 4. NEED AND PURPOSE .............................................................................................. 10 5. ALTERNATIVES UNDER CONSIDERATION .............................................................. 12 DESCRIPTION OF ALTERNATIVES .................................................................... 12 5.1.1 NO-BUILD ALTERNATIVE ..................................................................................................... 12 5.1.2 BUILD ALTERNATIVES .......................................................................................................... 12 PRELIMINARY COMPARISON OF ALTERNATIVES ........................................... 18 6. ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS FRAMEWORK .......................................................... 18 FEDERAL REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS ......................................................... 18 ORGANIZATION OF THE EIS ............................................................................ 20 ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES AND IMPACTS .............................................. 20 METHODOLOGY .............................................................................................. 22 6.4.1 STUDY AREA ....................................................................................................................... 22 6.4.2 ANALYSIS YEARS ................................................................................................................ 22 6.4.3 TECHNICAL STUDIES ........................................................................................................... 23 7. AGENCY AND PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT .................................................................. 31 AGENCY COORDINATION PLAN ................................................................... 31 7.1.1 COOPERATING AGENCIES ............................................................................................... 31 7.1.2 PARTICIPATING AGENCIES ............................................................................................... 31 7.1.3 SECTION 106 CONSULTING PARTY EFFORTS .................................................................... 31 PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT PLAN .......................................................................... 32 OUTREACH TOOLS, TECHNIQUES, AND STRATEGIES ..................................... 32 7.3.1 I-285 TOP END EXPRESS LANES WEBSITE ........................................................................... 32 7.3.2 SOCIAL MEDIA ................................................................................................................... 32 JULY 2020 ii I-285 TOP END EXPRESS LANES | SCOPING REPORT 7.3.3 DATABASE .......................................................................................................................... 32 7.3.4 PUBLIC MEETINGS .............................................................................................................. 33 7.3.5 CONTACTS ......................................................................................................................... 35 8. AGENCY AND PUBLIC SCOPING .......................................................................... 36 AGENCY SCOPING PROCESS ........................................................................ 36 8.1.1 AGENCY SCOPING MEETING INVITATIONS ..................................................................... 36 8.1.2 AGENCY SCOPING MEETING FORMAT AND CONTENT ................................................. 36 8.1.3 SUMMARY OF AGENCY INVOLVEMENT .......................................................................... 37 8.1.4 SUMMARY OF DISCUSSION ............................................................................................... 37 PUBLIC SCOPING PROCESS ............................................................................ 38 8.2.1 PUBLIC INFORMATION OPEN HOUSE COMMENTS ......................................................... 39 9. CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................ 40 Exhibits Exhibit 1-1: I-285 Top End Express Lanes Project Location Map .................................... 1 Exhibit 2-1: MMIP Project Locations ...................................................................................... 3 Exhibit 2-2: Lead, Cooperating, and Participating Agencies ....................................... 6 Exhibit 2-3: Tribal Governments .............................................................................................. 8 Exhibit 2-4: I-285 Top End Express Lanes EIS Schedule for Agency Coordination .... 9 Exhibit 4-1: Average Annual Daily Traffic Summary (Vehicles per Day) .................. 11 Exhibit 4-2: Project Need and Purpose Summary ........................................................... 11 Exhibit 5-1: Assumptions Common Throughout All Alternatives.................................. 12 Exhibit 5-2: Typical Sections For Build Alternatives .......................................................... 14 Exhibit 5-3: Alternative 1 Overview ..................................................................................... 15 Exhibit 5-4: Alternative 2 Overview ..................................................................................... 16 Exhibit 5-5: Alternative 3 Overview ..................................................................................... 17 Exhibit 6-1: Environmental Issues and Resources Addressed in the EIS..................... 21 Exhibit 8-1: Summary of Agency Scoping Meeting Involvement .............................. 37 Appendices Appendix A: Agency Scoping Meeting Appendix B: Agency Comments Received Appendix C: Public Comment Response Summary Letters JULY 2020 iii I-285 TOP END EXPRESS LANES | SCOPING REPORT 1. INTRODUCTION The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Georgia Department of Transportation (Georgia DOT) are preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a proposed highway express lanes (ELs) project along the “top end” portion of Interstate 285 (I-285)/State Route (SR) 407 in the north Atlanta Metropolitan (metro) area (see Exhibit 1-1). The proposed project is the construction of PI No. 0001758, Cobb/DeKalb/Fulton Counties, I-285 Top End Express Lanes, as part of Georgia DOT's Major Mobility Investment Program (MMIP). The proposed project would include ELs in each direction along 18.0 miles of I-285 from just south of Mile Marker 17 at Paces Ferry Road (Exit 18) to Henderson Road (between Mile Markers 35 and 36) and along 3.5 miles of SR 400 from south of the Glenridge Connector (between Mile Markers 5 and 6) to the vicinity of the North Springs Metro Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) Station (Mile Marker 9). The project would tie into the existing Northwest Corridor system and the existing high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes along I-85 from I-285 north for approximately 1.0 mile to Pleasantdale Road (between Mile Markers 96 and 97). The project includes a total of 22.5 centerline miles of EL improvements. EXHIBIT 1-1: I-285 TOP END EXPRESS LANES PROJECT LOCATION MAP JULY 2020 1 I-285 TOP END EXPRESS LANES | SCOPING REPORT This Scoping Report highlights the process by which Georgia DOT, as lead state agency, and FHWA, as lead federal agency, have sought and will continue to seek input into scoping of the EIS for the proposed I-285 Top End Express Lanes project to address requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The scoping process provided an opportunity to seek and consider input from the public and agencies on the scope of the environmental review, including the Need and Purpose for the project, the alternatives to be studied,