Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for a Proposed Highway Project in Clark County, Nevada

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Published

March 22, 2024

Issuing agencies

Transportation DepartmentFederal Highway Administration

Abstract

FHWA and Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) are issuing this Notice of Intent (NOI) to solicit comments and advise the public, agencies, and stakeholders that FHWA will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for transportation improvements to a section of Interstate 11 (I-11)/U.S. Highway 95 (US 95)/U.S. Highway 93 (US 93) in the City of Las Vegas, Clark County, Nevada. The project is referred to as the Downtown Access Project. This NOI contains a summary of information as required in the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations for implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This NOI should be reviewed together with the Additional Project Information document, which contains additional important details about the proposed project. Persons and agencies who may be interested in or affected by the proposed project are encouraged to comment on the information in this NOI and the Additional Project Information document. All comments received in response to this NOI will be considered and any information presented herein, including the preliminary purpose and need, preliminary alternatives, and identified impacts, may be revised in consideration of the comments.

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 57 (Friday, March 22, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 57 (Friday, March 22, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20530-20533]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-06146]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration

[Docket No. FHWA-2024-0018]

Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for
a Proposed Highway Project in Clark County, Nevada

AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Department of
Transportation (USDOT).

ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: FHWA and Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) are
issuing this Notice of Intent (NOI) to solicit comments and advise the
public, agencies, and stakeholders that FHWA will prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for transportation improvements to
a section of Interstate 11 (I-11)/U.S. Highway 95 (US 95)/U.S. Highway
93 (US 93) in the City of Las Vegas, Clark County, Nevada. The project
is referred to as the Downtown Access Project. This NOI contains a
summary of information as required in the Council on Environmental
Quality (CEQ) regulations for implementing the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA). This NOI should be reviewed together with the
Additional Project Information document, which contains additional
important details about the proposed project. Persons and agencies who
may be interested in or affected by the proposed project are encouraged
to comment on the information in this NOI and the Additional Project
Information document. All comments received in response to this NOI
will be considered and any information presented herein, including the
preliminary purpose and need, preliminary alternatives, and identified
impacts, may be revised in consideration of the comments.

DATES: Comments on the NOI and/or the Additional Project Information
document must be received on or before April 22, 2024.

ADDRESSES: This NOI and the Additional Project Information document are
available in Docket No. FHWA-2024-0018, which is available at
<a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> and on the project website located at
<a href="http://www.ndotdap.com">www.ndotdap.com</a> under the ``Environmental'' tab. Additional Project
Information document will also be mailed upon request. All interested
parties are invited to submit comments on the NOI using any of the
following methods:
<bullet> Website: For access to the documents, go to the Federal
eRulemaking Portal located at <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> or the project
website located at <a href="http://www.ndotdap.com">www.ndotdap.com</a> under the ``Environmental'' tab.
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments at
<a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>.
<bullet> Phone: Abdelmoez Abdalla at (775) 687-1231 or Ryan Wheeler
at (702) 278-3391.
<bullet> Mail: FHWA Nevada Division, 705 N Plaza, Suite 220, Carson
City, NV 89701, Attention: Abdelmoez Abdalla; or Nevada Department of
Transportation, 123 E Washington Ave., Las Vegas, NV 89101, Attention:
Ryan Wheeler.
<bullet> Email address: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#452427212029282a203f6b2427212429292405212a316b222a33">[email&#160;protected]</a> or
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5f2d28373a3a333a2d1f3b302b71312971383029">[email&#160;protected]</a>.
<bullet> Project email address: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#472e29212807292328332326376924282a">[email&#160;protected]</a>.
All submissions should include the agency name and the docket
number that appears in this NOI. All comments received will be posted
without change on <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>, including any personal
information provided.
The Draft EIS will include a summary of the comments received.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information and/or to be
placed on the project mailing list, contact Abdelmoez Abdalla,
Environmental Program Manager, FHWA Nevada Division, 705 N Plaza, Suite
220, Carson City, NV 89701; (775) 687-1231, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#4f2e2d2b2a2322202a35612e2d2b2e23232e0f2b203b61282039">[email&#160;protected]</a>;
or Ryan Wheeler, Senior Project Manager, Nevada Department of
Transportation, 123 E Washington Ave., Las Vegas, NV 89101; (702) 278-
3391, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e391948b86868f8691a3878c97cd8d95cd848c95">[email&#160;protected]</a>.
Persons interested in receiving project information can also use
the project email address to be added to the project mailing list.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: FHWA and NDOT are committed to public
involvement for this project. All public comments received in response
to this NOI will be considered and potential revisions will be made to
the information presented herein as appropriate. FHWA, as the lead
Federal Agency, and NDOT, as the lead State agency and project sponsor,
are preparing an EIS to evaluate transportation solutions on I-11/US
95/US 93 \1\ in the City of Las Vegas, Clark County, Nevada in
accordance with NEPA, as amended (42 United States Code [U.S.C.] 4321,
et seq.); 23 U.S.C. 139, CEQ regulations for implementing NEPA (40 Code
of Regulations [CFR] 1500-1508); FHWA regulations implementing NEPA (23
CFR 771.101-771.139, 23 CFR part 772, and 23 CFR part 774); and
applicable Federal, State, and local laws and regulations.
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\1\ Interstate 11 (I-11) was formerly signed as Interstate 515
(I-515).
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The EIS will evaluate the environmental effects of all reasonable
project alternatives and determine the potential impacts to social,
economic, natural, and physical environmental resources associated with
these alternatives. The project team and agencies will work together to
identify and mitigate any potentially significant impacts through the
NEPA process. FHWA will consider, screen, and carry forward all
reasonable alternatives for a detailed analysis in the Draft EIS based
on their ability to address the project's purpose and need while
minimizing adverse impacts to the natural and human environment.
To ensure that a full range of issues are addressed in the EIS and
potential issues are identified, comments and suggestions are invited
from all interested parties. FHWA requests comments on the purpose and
need statement, project alternatives and impacts, and the
identification of any relevant information, studies, or analyses of any
kind concerning impacts to the quality of the natural and human
environment. The purpose of this request is to bring relevant comments,
information, and analyses to the

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attention of FHWA and NDOT as early in the process as possible, to
enable the agency to make maximum use of this information in the
decision-making process.

Purpose and Need for the Proposed Action

The purpose of the project is to address aging infrastructure,
safety, and congestion along I-11/US 95/US 93 between Rancho Drive and
Mojave Road in Las Vegas to increase the efficiency of the movement of
people, goods, and services on the freeway. Improvements are necessary
to address the following: (1) aging bridges; (2) closely spaced ramps
that create short merge and weave distances; and (3) unacceptable
congestion caused by increased traffic volumes on a freeway structure
that has never been widened in a city that has grown 1,000 percent
since I-11/US 95/US 93 was opened to traffic in 1968.
In addition to the needs, several project goals were identified to
revitalize and reconnect the community. These are: (1) improve
neighborhood multimodal mobility; (2) reconnect neighborhoods; (3)
enhance public health and wellness; (4) improve human and natural
environment; (5) improve infrastructure resiliency; and (6) support
economic growth. These reflect topics important to the public,
stakeholders, and agencies.
The purpose and need statement, and project goals may be revised
based on the comments received during the comment period for this NOI.

Preliminary Description of the Proposed Action and Alternatives the EIS
Will Consider

Three alternatives were initially developed, evaluated, and then
presented to the public at a public information meeting in January
2022: Alternative 1 was a South Alternative that widened and shifted I-
11/US 95/US 93 to the south; Alternative 2 was a North Alternative that
widened and shifted I-11/US 95/US 93 to the north; and Alternative 3
was a Recessed Alternative in which I-11/US 95/US 93 was widened and
shifted north of the existing freeway and placed below ground in an
open trench for approximately 1 mile. In addition, Alternative 4 is the
No Build Alternative. These alternatives included HOV lanes as well as
HOV-only interchanges at Maryland Parkway and City Parkway. Preliminary
impacts were identified for the alternatives and presented at the
public meeting in January 2022. In spring 2022, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) expressed concerns due to the high number of
residential displacements in an environmental justice community. FHWA
shared these concerns. EPA and FHWA asked NDOT to revise the
alternatives to reduce impacts and to solicit more community input to
better understand what the community would like to see in a
reconstructed freeway (see further discussion in Description of the
Public Scoping Process, later in this document). As a result of this
effort, Alternatives 1, 2, and 3 (South, North, and Recessed
Alternatives), as initially developed, were dismissed from further
consideration due to their community impacts (i.e., the large number of
displacements in the environmental justice community) and NDOT
developed Alternatives 5, 6, 7, and 8.
NDOT presented these four alternatives, along with the No Build
Alternative, at a public meeting in August 2023. Based on feedback from
the public meeting, input from FHWA, and because of its larger
footprint and high number of potential displacements, as well as the
higher cost, Alternative 8 (Recessed with No HOV Interchanges) was
dismissed from further consideration. Other factors in NDOT's decision
to dismiss Alternative 8 from further consideration were that it would
be more complex and riskier to build than Alternatives 5, 6, and 7; it
would be more expensive to maintain after construction; and Union
Pacific Railroad's opposition to moving their tracks to a bridge over
I-11/US 95/US 93 rather than having I-11/US 95/US 93 go over their
tracks.
The proposed action would reconstruct I-11/US 95/US 93 through
downtown Las Vegas, including adding a general-purpose lane and
continuous high-occupancy-vehicle (HOV) lane in each direction;
potentially constructing a new HOV interchange; modifying ramps that
connect I-11/US 95/US 93 to I-15 by adding collector-distributor roads
and ramp braiding to improve traffic and safety on the freeway; and
reconstructing existing interchanges along the 4-mile-long stretch of
freeway.
FHWA and NDOT propose to evaluate three Build Alternatives and the
No Build Alternative in the EIS. The three Build Alternatives under
consideration are Alternative 5: Elevated with HOV Interchange at City
Parkway, Alternative 6: Elevated with No HOV Interchange, and
Alternative 7: Elevated with No HOV Interchange plus Revised I-11/US
95/US 93 Ramp Connections to I-15 North. All three Build Alternatives
would remove the Las Vegas Viaduct and widen I-11/US 95/US 93 to the
north. The freeway would still be elevated east of I-15, but on an
earth berm with bridges over local streets. The No Build Alternative
(Alternative 4) assumes no improvements other than routine maintenance.
More information on the alternatives is included in the Additional
Project Information document available for review in the docket
established for this project and on the project website as noted in the
ADDRESSES section. NDOT and FHWA may revise the alternatives based on
public comments and/or to further reduce the number of displacements
based on the preliminary engineering and environmental analyses during
the NEPA review. NDOT and FHWA will finalize the range of reasonable
alternatives after considering comments received during the comment
period on this NOI, and the comments will be documented in the Draft
EIS.

Summary of Expected Impacts

The EIS will evaluate potential social, economic, and environmental
impacts of implementing the Build Alternatives and the No Build
Alternative. Based on a preliminary review of existing conditions
within and in proximity to the study area, the environmental issues and
considerations that will require the most attention by NDOT and FHWA to
minimize project impacts during the environmental review process are as
follows:
<bullet> Displacements. The Downtown Access Project study area is a
densely developed urban area and, as a result, the project's most
notable impacts would be property acquisition and displacing residences
(preliminary estimates range from 46 to 51), businesses (preliminary
estimates range from 2 to 11), and community/public buildings (6).
<bullet> Environmental Justice. Environmental justice populations
include minority and/or low-income persons as defined in FHWA Order
6640.23A (2012) and the appendix of the USDOT Order 5610.2C (2021).
Most, if not all, of the residential areas adjacent to the study area
are Environmental Justice communities. There is the potential for
disproportionate adverse impacts to the Environmental Justice
communities because of potential displacements to residences,
businesses, and community buildings, as well as noise and visual
impacts.
<bullet> Cultural Resources. There are 28 properties in the study
corridor area of potential effect that are either listed, eligible, or
potentially eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic
Places. FHWA and NDOT are assessing to determine if there would be an
effect on the properties. Section 106 consultation with the State
Historic

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Preservation Office (SHPO) and other consulting parties is underway.
Under Alternatives 5 and 7 it appears there will be adverse effects to
three historic buildings, and under Alternative 6 there will be an
adverse effect to one historic building, pending SHPO concurrence.
<bullet> Water Resources. Las Vegas Creek is underground and
crosses under I-11/US 95/US 93 at Main Street. Las Vegas Creek flows
only briefly after rainfall and, therefore, may not be subject to
sections 401 and 404 of the Clean Water Act.
<bullet> Section 4(f) Resources. All three Build Alternatives would
result in a potential use of two recreation resources eligible for
section 4(f) protection: (1) the Municipal Swimming Pool and (2) the
Dula Community Center. In addition, Alternative 5 would result in the
potential use of four historic resources, Alternative 6 would result in
the use of two historic buildings, and Alternative 7 would result in
the use of three historic buildings eligible for section 4(f)
protection. Potential effects on these section 4(f) properties will be
evaluated, and avoided or minimized as the project is refined during
the NEPA process and section 4(f) evaluation.
The EIS will evaluate the expected impacts (including any benefits)
to the resources identified above, as well as air quality, noise,
hazardous and regulated materials, biological resources, community
resources, and visual resources. The extent of NDOT's and FHWA's impact
analysis will be commensurate with the anticipated impacts and will be
governed by the statutory or regulatory requirements protecting those
resources. The analyses and evaluations conducted for the EIS will
identify the potential impacts and the appropriate environmental
mitigation measures.
The Additional Project Information document provides additional
information about the expected impacts and is available for review in
the docket established for this project and on the project website as
noted in the ADDRESSES section. FHWA welcomes comments on the expected
impacts that it should analyze in the Draft EIS during the NOI comment
period. NDOT's and FHWA's planned impact analysis may be revised after
considering public comments.

Anticipated Permits and Other Authorizations

Potential permits and authorizations for the project are a section
402 stormwater permit from NDEP's Bureau of Water Pollution Control and
concurrence from the Nevada SHPO for compliance with section 106 of the
National Historic Preservation Act.
Cooperating agencies for this project are U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers. Participating
agencies are the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the
City of Las Vegas, Clark County, and the Southern Nevada Regional
Housing Authority. NDOT and FHWA will give agencies and tribes another
opportunity to serve as cooperating or participating agencies after the
NOI is published.
FHWA will prepare an evaluation under section 4(f) of the USDOT Act
of 1966, 49 U.S.C. 303 and 23 CFR part 774, and will undertake
consultation under section 106 of the National Historic Preservation
Act of 1966, 54 U.S.C. 300101-307108, concurrently with the NEPA
environmental review processes. Section 106 tribal consultation will
occur separately but coordinated within the overall EIS project level
tribal involvement.

Schedule for the Decision-Making Process

FHWA and NDOT will establish the project schedule as part of the
requirements of the environmental review process under 23 U.S.C. 139
and will comply with 40 CFR 1501.10(a) and (b)(2), which require that
the Record of Decision be issued within 2 years of the date of
publication of the NOI and that all permits are issued within 90 days
of the Record of Decision. A current draft of the Project Coordination
Plan, the Public Involvement Plan, and the project schedule are
included in the Additional Project Information document, which is
available for review in the docket established for this project and on
the project website as noted in the ADDRESSES section.
The anticipated project schedule is the following:

<bullet> NOI Publication: March 2024
<bullet> Agency Scoping: April 2024
<bullet> Cooperating and Participating Agency Review and Concurrence on
Purpose and Need and Alternatives: May 2024
<bullet> Cooperating and Participating Agency Review and
Concurrence on Preferred Alternative: July 2024
<bullet> Notice of Availability of the Draft EIS: June 2025
<bullet> Public Hearing: July 2025
<bullet> Section 106 consultation concludes: October 2025
<bullet> Change in Access Control approved: January 2026
<bullet> Combined Final EIS/Record of Decision: March 2026
<bullet> Notice of Final Federal Action/Statute of Limitations:
April 2026
<bullet> Issue all Project Permits and Authorization Decisions:
July 2026 (if a Build Alternative is selected)

A Description of the Public Scoping Process

FHWA and NDOT conducted early coordination starting in May 2020,
and a pre-NOI scoping meeting was held with cooperating and
participating agencies in January 2021.
The first public information meeting was held from August to
September 2020 (due to the declared Covid-19 pandemic, this meeting was
virtual). The purpose of this meeting was to introduce the project,
provide the public an opportunity to comment on the range of issues
that the study should consider, and provide the public an opportunity
to ask questions.
NDOT conducted a street closure outreach campaign in March and
April 2021. NDOT simulated the proposed street closures for 5 weeks and
requested feedback from the public about the street closures.
An Environmental Justice survey was conducted with residents and
businesses in the study area in May and June 2021 to confirm
demographics of the neighborhoods and assess how often adjacent
residents use the freeway.
In December 2021 and February 2022, NDOT surveyed adjacent
residents and businesses regarding potential mitigation measures for
the project.
A second public information meeting was held in January and
February 2022 to present proposed alternatives, potential community
enhancements, and preliminary environmental impacts.
In Spring 2022, EPA expressed concerns about the high number of
displacements and potential impacts to low-income and minority
populations resulting from the preliminary alternatives. FHWA shared
these concerns. EPA and FHWA asked NDOT to revise the alternatives to
reduce impacts and to solicit more community input to better understand
what the community would like to see in a reconstructed freeway. In
response to this feedback, NDOT embarked on a 6-month effort to further
engage those most likely to be impacted by the project. During this
time, the team held monthly meetings with FHWA and EPA to ensure
agreement on the path forward, share progress, and receive feedback
during the process.
The NDOT outreach team first opened a project office at the East
Las Vegas Community Center, located near I-11/US 95/US 93 and Eastern
Avenue. The team also held 15 community meetings with nearly 150
participants between August 2022 and January 2023.

[[Page 20533]]

Participants included residents, businesses, faith leaders, first
responders, chambers of commerce, downtown stakeholders, and the Las
Vegas Paiute Tribe. The conversation topics included the purpose and
need for the project, challenges of living near the freeway, what type
of freeway the community would like to see, and potential community
enhancements. The feedback received during these community
conversations influenced the project's revised purpose and need
statement and aided in modifying the alternatives.
NDOT surveyed unhoused people that live near the freeway in January
2023.
A third public meeting was held in August 2023 to present revised
alternatives, potential community enhancements, and preliminary
environmental impacts.
The public and agencies will have the opportunity to submit written
comments during the 30-day scoping comment period beginning on the date
of this NOI publication to identify the scope of issues and potential
significant issues related to the proposed action that the Draft EIS
should address. Monthly meetings with Cooperating Agencies and periodic
meetings with Participating Agencies will be held throughout the
environmental review process. The Draft Public Involvement Plan and the
Draft Project Coordination Plan included with the Additional Project
Information document describe how the public and agencies will continue
to be engaged during the EIS process. FHWA and NDOT will conduct
additional public and agency outreach for the Draft EIS. The Draft EIS
will be available for public and agency review and comment prior to the
Draft EIS Public Hearing.

Request for Identification of Potential Alternatives, Information, and
Analyses Relevant to the Proposed Action

The Additional Project Information document includes the draft
statement of purpose and need, a description of the alternatives to be
considered, the Project Coordination Plan and permitting timetable, the
Public Involvement Plan, and a NEPA Milestone Schedule. With this NOI,
FHWA and NDOT request and encourage State, tribal, and local government
agencies, and the public to review the NOI and Additional Project
Information document and submit comments about any aspect of the
project. Specifically, agencies and the public are asked to comment on
the purpose and need for the project, to identify and submit potential
alternatives for consideration and information such as anticipated
significant issues or environmental impacts and analyses relevant to
the proposed action for consideration by the Lead and Cooperating
Agencies in developing the Draft EIS. Any information presented herein,
including the preliminary purpose and need, preliminary range of
alternatives, and identification of impacts may be revised after the
comments are considered. Comments must be received by April 22, 2024
and may be submitted using any of the methods described in the
ADDRESSES section of this NOI. Any questions concerning this proposed
action should be directed to FHWA and NDOT at the physical address,
email address, or phone number provided in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT section of this NOI.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program Number 20.205,
Highway Planning and Construction. The regulations implementing
Executive Order 12372 regarding intergovernmental consultation on
Federal programs and activities apply to this program).

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 4321, et seq.; 23 CFR part 771.

Khoa Nguyen,
Division Administrator, Carson City, Nevada.
[FR Doc. 2024-06146 Filed 3-21-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-22-P

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