Federal Highway Administration October 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The FHWA is issuing this notice to advise the public about the resumption of environmental activities leading to a Tier 2 Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed Section 6 of I- 69, located in Morgan, Johnson and Marion Counties, Indiana, of the Evansville-to-Indianapolis Interstate 69 (I-69) highway. This Notice of Intent (NOI) updates the NOI published in the April 29, 2004 Federal Register. The purpose of this NOI is to advise that pursuant to the March 24, 2004 Tier 1 Record of Decision (ROD) for this project, a range of alternatives will be evaluated which may include alternatives outside of the corridor selected in the Tier 1 ROD. All alternatives evaluated will connect Section 5 of I-69 in Martinsville with I-465 in Indianapolis.

The FHWA invites public comments about our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval for renewal of an existing information collection that is summarized below under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. We are required to publish this notice in the Federal Register by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

Pursuant to 40 CFR 1508.22 and 43 TAC Sec. 2.5(e)(2), the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), and the Lone Star Rail District (LSRD) are issuing this notice to advise the public that an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will be prepared for a proposed transportation project to construct and operate a regional passenger rail service system along the IH-35 corridor connecting the greater Austin and San Antonio metropolitan areas. A required letter of initiation pursuant to 23 U.S.C. 139 was completed as well. As the project proponent, the LSRD intends to apply for Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) program funding and seek to retain federal funding eligibility for this proposed project. The proposed project would provide for implementation of passenger rail service within the existing Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) corridor that extends from Williamson County to Bexar County, Texas. FHWA as the lead federal agency will coordinate closely with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), to perform the analyses required to evaluate reasonable alternatives for the proposed action. The EIS may include a potential alternative that would include development and operation of a new freight bypass to carry some of the existing freight rail traffic between Taylor and San Antonio to allow the addition of passenger service along the existing UPRR line.

This notice announces that the Projects of National and Regional Significance (PNRS) survey required under section 1120 of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) will re-open on October 2, 2014. The original survey period ran from May 29, 2014, to June 30, 2014. However, in order to develop a more comprehensive catalogue of Projects of National and Regional Significance to assist DOT in planning and investment decisionmaking, DOT will re-open the survey for 45 calendar days, including Federal holidays through November 17, 2014. This will provide interested parties with an additional opportunity to submit projects for consideration and supplement existing submissions. The DOT may not consider responses submitted after November 17, 2014, so as to allow DOT to deliver the MAP-21 mandated report to Congress within a reasonable timeframe.