Notice2026-10919
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for Section 2 of the Mid-States Corridor Project: Tier 2 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
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Published
June 1, 2026
Issuing agencies
Transportation DepartmentFederal Highway Administration
Abstract
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), in coordination with the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) is issuing this Notice of Intent (NOI) to solicit comment and advise the public, agencies, tribal nations, and stakeholders that a Tier 2 Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will be prepared for the Mid-States Corridor (MSC), Section 2. This will be a new highway connection between Interstate 64 (I-64) at Dale and State Road (SR) 56 in Haysville in Dubois County, Indiana. FHWA and INDOT completed the Tier 1 Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) and Record of Decision (ROD) in September 2023. The Tier 1 EIS process addressed needs for improved business and personal regional connectivity in Dubois County and Southern Indiana, and for improved highway connections to existing major multi-modal locations in Southern Indiana. The Tier 1 FEIS and ROD identified Refined Preferred Alternative P (RPA P) as the selected corridor and divided it into five Sections of Independent Utility. This Tier 2 EIS will address Section of Independent Utility 2 and builds on the Tier 1 EIS and ROD.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 104 (Monday, June 1, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 104 (Monday, June 1, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32505-32507]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-10919]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Highway Administration
[Docket No. FHWA-2026-0562]
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for
Section 2 of the Mid-States Corridor Project: Tier 2 National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), U.S. Department of
Transportation (USDOT).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), in coordination with
the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) is issuing this Notice
of Intent (NOI) to solicit comment and advise the public, agencies,
tribal nations, and stakeholders that a Tier 2 Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) will be prepared for the Mid-States Corridor (MSC),
Section 2. This will be a new highway connection between Interstate 64
(I-64) at Dale and State Road (SR) 56 in Haysville in Dubois County,
Indiana. FHWA and INDOT completed the Tier 1 Final Environmental Impact
Statement (FEIS) and Record of Decision (ROD) in September 2023. The
Tier 1 EIS process addressed needs for improved business and personal
regional connectivity in Dubois County and Southern Indiana, and for
improved highway connections to existing major multi-modal locations in
Southern Indiana. The Tier 1 FEIS and ROD identified Refined Preferred
Alternative P (RPA P) as the selected corridor and divided it into five
Sections of Independent Utility. This Tier 2 EIS will address Section
of Independent Utility 2 and builds on the Tier 1 EIS and ROD.
DATES: Comments on the NOI or the NOI Additional Project Information
Document must be received on or before July 1, 2026.
ADDRESSES: This NOI and the NOI Additional Project Information Document
are available in the docket referenced above at <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> and
on the project website located at <a href="http://www.midstatescorridor.com/Notice-of-Intent-Resources">www.midstatescorridor.com/Notice-of-Intent-Resources</a>. The NOI Additional Project Information Document will
be mailed upon request. All interested parties are invited to submit
comments or requests for mailed documents by any of the following
methods:
<bullet> Website: For access to the documents, or to request mailed
documents, go to the docket referenced above at <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>.
<bullet> Address for U.S. Mail, delivery service, or hand delivery:
Mid-States Corridor Project Office, Vincennes University Jasper Campus
Administration Building, Room 216, 850 College Avenue, Jasper, IN
47546.
All comment submissions should include the agency, public, tribal
nation, or stakeholder name. It also should include the agency name and
docket number that appears in the heading of this notice. All comments
received by the comment period end date will be posted without change
to <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>, including any personal information provided. A
summary of the comments received will be included in the Draft EIS
(DEIS).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: FHWA: Erica Tait, Interim Deputy
Division Administrator, Federal Highway Administration, Indiana
Division; 575 N Pennsylvania Street, Suite 254, Indianapolis, IN 46204.
Telephone (317) 226-7481. Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b7d2c5ded4d699c3d6dec3f7d3d8c399d0d8c1"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7c190e151f1d52081d15083c181308521b130a">[email protected]</span></a>. INDOT: Kyanna
Wheeler, Major Project Delivery Project Manager, Indiana Department of
Transportation; Indiana Government Center North, 100 N Senate Ave.,
Room N758-MPD, Indianapolis, IN 46204. Telephone (812) 830-2300. Email:
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#7e1509161b1b121b0c3e17101a110a50171050191108"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="38534f505d5d545d4a7851565c574c165156165f574e">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Additional Project Information
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 NOI Additional Project Information Document. All comments
received in response to this NOI document will be considered in
preparation of the EIS for this project.
The EIS will be prepared in accordance with the requirements of the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C.
4321, et seq.), 23 U.S.C. 139, FHWA regulations implementing NEPA (23
CFR part 771), recent USDOT Guidance and all other applicable Federal,
State, and local laws and regulations.
Project Background
Tier 2 activities in Section 2 began in July 2024. These have
featured extensive agency and public involvement activities, including
formal Cooperating and Participating Agency meetings in October 2024,
April 2025, and October 2025, and formal public information meetings in
September 2024, April 2025, and October 2025. Formal meetings with
local officials and the project's Community Advisory Committee were
held in conjunction with the public information meetings.
Additional meetings also occurred with project stakeholders and
members of the public and agencies. Many of these meetings occurred at
the project office at the Vincennes University Jasper Campus.
Input from agencies, elected officials, stakeholders, and the
public informed the development of preliminary project documents,
including a Project Coordination Plan, Public Involvement Plan, Purpose
and Need, and Screening of Preliminary Alternatives. These documents
are summarized in this NOI. Please refer to the Additional Project
Information Document for detailed information.
Purpose and Need for the Proposed Action
The Purpose and Need of the MSC, as established in Tier 1, is to
improve business and personal regional connectivity in Dubois County
and Southern Indiana and to improve highway connections to existing
major multi-modal locations in Southern Indiana. The Tier 2 Purpose and
Need for the project in Section 2 refines the
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Purpose and Need established in Tier 1. The Tier 2 Purpose and Need
describes the project purpose as providing improved system linkages
from Dubois County to major business destinations and freight
intermodal centers, improving employee access to Dubois County
businesses, increasing the efficiency of freight operations, and
completing Section 2 of the MSC, consistent with the Tier 1 Record of
Decision. It provides goals and performance measures which refine those
in the Tier 1 Purpose and Need, focusing on accessibility and
transportation needs in Dubois County.
Preliminary Description of the Proposed Action and Alternatives the
Environmental Impact Statement Will Consider
The proposed project would construct a new south-to-north arterial
road between I-64 at Dale and SR 56 at Haysville in Dubois County,
Indiana. The EIS will evaluate a range of Build alternatives,
consistent with the decision of the Tier 1 ROD. These alternatives are
discussed in the Screening of Preliminary Alternatives in the
Additional Project Information Document. In this Tier 2 study, INDOT
developed 12 preliminary build alternatives, approximately 23 miles in
length. They are designated Alternative 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A, and 3B with
each including two highway type options. These are located within a
2,000-foot corridor established in Tier 1. From these, the Screening of
Preliminary Alternatives identified Alternatives 2B and 3B as
alternatives to be carried forward into the Draft EIS (DEIS). It is
anticipated that the DEIS preferred alternative will contain elements
and modifications of both Alternative 2B and Alternative 3B. The DEIS
will identify the location and type of access for the preferred
alternative.
Brief Summary of Expected Effects
The Tier 2 EIS will evaluate the potential social, economic, and
environmental impacts resulting from the implementation of the build
alternatives. The following resources are anticipated to be evaluated
in detail during the environmental review process: waters of the United
States, biological resources, hydrology, floodplains, cultural and
historic resources, land use, forests, managed lands, socioeconomics,
and farmlands. Additionally, the EIS will also investigate impacts to
the following resources: wildlife and habitat connectivity, Section
4(f), noise, economy, groundwater, air quality, hazardous waste sites,
and mineral resources. Details regarding key resources are provided in
the Screening of Preliminary Alternatives Report. The Screening of
Preliminary Alternatives Report describes the anticipated levels of
impacts to these resources. Alternatives evaluated in the Report showed
the following ranges of major resource impacts:
<bullet> Right-of-Way. 1,462 to 1,596 acres.
<bullet> Agricultural Land. 869 to 935 acres.
<bullet> Total Relocations. 41 to 82 buildings (Residential,
Commercial, Industrial, Agricultural, and Public Use).
<bullet> Wetlands. 55 to 90 acres.
<bullet> Non-Wetland Forests. 327 to 362 acres.
The Impact Calculation Appendix to the Screening of Preliminary
Alternatives Report describes impact calculation methodologies as well
as field survey activities to identify and confirm the extent of
resources.
Anticipated Permits, Other Authorizations and Cooperating and
Participating Agencies
Anticipated permits and authorizations that will be required prior
to the commencement of construction include the following. The schedule
for these activities is shown below, which is also reflected in the
Project Coordination Plan. All references are to the Tier 2 ROD for
Section 2:
<bullet> U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) approval under Section
404 of the Clean Water Act (Received following approval of ROD)
<bullet> State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) consultation under
Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (Completed prior
to ROD)
<bullet> U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) approvals under the
Endangered Species Act, the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, and
Migratory Bird Treaty Act (Received prior to ROD)
<bullet> Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) approval under
the Farmland Protection Policy Act (Received prior to DEIS; confirmed
in FEIS)
<bullet> Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) approval under
the Indiana Flood Control Act (Received within 15 days of ROD)
<bullet> Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) under
the Indiana Isolated Wetlands Act (Completed after ROD)
<bullet> IDEM under Clean Water Act Section 401 water quality
certification (Completed after ROD) and
<bullet> IDEM National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
permit under Section 402 (Received within 15 days of ROD)
Cooperating Agencies include USFWS, USACE, and the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency. A number of Federal, State, and local
agencies are serving as Participating Agencies. INDOT and FHWA will
confer with them at key project milestones and as required between
these milestones.
The Project Coordination Plan accompanying the Additional Project
Information Document outlines the process the FHWA and the INDOT will
follow to complete the Mid-States Corridor Tier 2 EIS for Section 2 in
Dubois County. This plan will satisfy 23 U.S.C. 139 of the Fixing
America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act of 2015 which requires a
plan for this purpose.
Scoping and Public Review
The Public Involvement Plan accompanying the Additional Project
Information Document describes public involvement goals, methods for
stakeholder communications, public information database management,
messaging, and outreach tools. It describes the public involvement
coordination process, including community and media outreach.
Since June 2024 there has been extensive public and agency outreach
regarding the scope of the project, its purpose and need and potential
alternatives. There have been three general public information
meetings. A Draft Purpose and Need Statement and Draft Screening of
Preliminary Alternative Reports have been circulated. Extensive public
and agency comments were received on both documents.
Schedule for the Decision-Making Process
Based on project activities conducted to date, a Draft EIS is
anticipated to be released in the fall of 2026, with a combined FEIS
and Record of Decision approved in the summer of 2027.
Request for Identification of Potential Alternatives, Information,
and Analyses Relevant to the Proposed Action
All public comments received in response to this notice will be
considered, and potential revisions will be made to the information
presented herein as appropriate. Comments must be received by July 1,
2026. Comments or questions concerning this proposed action, including
the comments relating to the Tier 2 EIS alternatives, information and
analyses, should be
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provided to FHWA or INDOT at the addresses provided in the ADDRESSES
section of this notice.
Authority
42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.; 23 U.S.C. 139; 23 CFR part 771.
Christopher J. Hall,
Interim Division Administrator, Federal Highway Administration.
[FR Doc. 2026-10919 Filed 5-29-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-22-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on June 1, 2026.
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