Environmental Impact Statement (EIS): Erie County

• Citation: 84 FR 68539
• Record Number: 2019-27020
• Published date: 16 December 2019
• Section: Notices
• Court: Federal Highway Administration

Federal Register, Volume 84 Issue 241 (Monday, December 16, 2019)

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 241 (Monday, December 16, 2019)]
                [Notices]
                [Pages 68539-68540]
                From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
                [FR Doc No: 2019-27020]
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                DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
                Federal Highway Administration
                Environmental Impact Statement (EIS): Erie County
                AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.
                ACTION: Rescinded notice of intent (NOI).
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                SUMMARY: The FHWA is issuing this rescinded notice to advise the public
                that FHWA will not be preparing and issuing an Environmental Impact
                Statement (EIS) on a proposal to replace the former South Michigan
                Avenue Bridge in the City of Buffalo, Erie County, New York [New York
                State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) Project Identification
                Number (PIN) 5758.17]. The NOI to prepare an EIS was published in the
                Federal Register on April 13, 2009.
                FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Frank Cirillo, Regional Director, New
                York State Department of Transportation, 100 Seneca Street, Buffalo,
                New York 14203, Telephone: (716) 847-3238; or Richard Marquis, Division
                Administrator, Federal Highway Administration, New York Division, Leo
                W. O'Brien Federal Building, 7th Floor, 11A Clinton Avenue, Albany, New
                York 12207, Telephone: (518) 431-8897.
                SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FHWA, in cooperation with the NYSDOT and
                the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation (ECHDC), previously
                intended to prepare an EIS to evaluate the effects of a proposal to
                replace the former South Michigan Avenue Bridge in the City of Buffalo,
                Erie County, New York. The proposed improvements involved constructing
                a transportation facility that would provide a direct link from the
                inner harbor to the outer harbor area while maintaining adequate
                waterway access for recreational and commercial watercrafts. The Final
                Scoping Report (March 2010) states ``the purpose of this project is to
                directly and efficiently connect the New Downtown and the Outer Harbor
                area with a multi-modal (pedestrian, bicyclist, and motorized traffic)
                transportation facility over the Buffalo River and/or City Ship Canal
                in the City of Buffalo.'' As stated in the
                [[Page 68540]]
                original NOI, alternatives under consideration included: (1) Taking no
                action; (2) replacing the South Michigan Avenue Bridge on existing
                alignment; and (3) constructing a new bridge on new alignment across
                the Buffalo River and/or City Ship Canal. Several potential locations
                for the facility were considered within a 1.5-mile corridor extending
                from the mouth of the Buffalo River (in the vicinity of the Erie Basin
                Marina) to the southern navigation limit of the City Ship Canal (west
                of the existing Ohio Street Bridge).
                 Subsequent to publication of the March 2010 Final Scoping Report
                and upon progression of preliminary design and environmental review, it
                has been determined that sufficient funding is not available to
                progress a project that would meet the stated project purpose and
                address identified needs. Due to funding constraints, the Project
                cannot progress as originally envisioned. Thus, it has been determined
                that the Project must be terminated. Termination of this project does
                not preclude such work from being conducted in the future as an
                independent project, or as part of a larger independent action. Should
                the State or locality seek to undertake similar work in the future,
                work will be viewed and deemed as an independent action from that
                described above and will be required to undergo appropriate Federal
                and/or state environmental review.
                 Comments and questions concerning the proposed action should be
                directed to the FHWA contact person at the address provided above.
                Richard Marquis,
                New York Division Administrator, Albany, New York.
                [FR Doc. 2019-27020 Filed 12-13-19; 8:45 am]
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