[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 59 (Monday, March 28, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17185-17186]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-7203]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration


Environmental Impact Statement: Cook County, IL

AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of Intent.

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SUMMARY: The FHWA is issuing this Notice of Intent to advise the public 
that an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will be prepared for the 
Grand Crossing Rail Project, which involves new railroad track work, 
structural work, grading, and signal improvements to provide a new 
direct route for Amtrak trains from New Orleans, Louisiana or 
Carbondale, Illinois into Chicago Union Station, and to provide 
sufficient mainline capacity to accommodate existing and additional 
Amtrak trains along with freight traffic in the City of Chicago, Cook 
County, Illinois.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Norman R. Stoner, P.E., Division 
Administrator, Federal Highway Administration, 3250 Executive Park 
Drive, Springfield, Illinois 62703, Phone: (217) 492-4600. Steve 
McClarty, Acting Bureau Chief, Bureau of Railroads, Illinois Department 
of Transportation, 100 W. Randolph Street, Suite 6-600, Chicago, 
Illinois 60601-3229, Phone: (312) 793-3940.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FHWA, in cooperation with the Illinois 
Department of Transportation, Bureau of Railroads, will prepare an EIS 
on a proposal to construct a direct rail connection between the 
Canadian National (CN) and Norfolk Southern (NS) Chicago Line to 
provide a new, more direct route to Chicago's Union Station for Amtrak 
trains coming from New Orleans, Louisiana, and Carbondale, Illinois. 
The proposed project is an element of the overall Chicago Region 
Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program (CREATE), a joint 
effort of the Illinois Department of Transportation, the Chicago 
Department of Transportation, and the Association of American Railroads 
to restructure, modernize, and expand freight and passenger rail 
facilities and highway grade separations in the Chicago metropolitan 
area. Alternative track configurations will be considered and refined. 
The no-action alternative will also be evaluated. A preferred 
alternative and associated potential impacts will be presented at a 
public hearing. Preliminary measures to minimize harm, construction 
cost estimates, and estimated right-of-way and relocation requirements 
will also be developed.
    The proposed action will reduce travel time on the Amtrak's Illini-
Saluki and City of New Orleans trains by eliminating a time-consuming 
back-up move into Union Station that these trains currently perform due 
to the existing track configuration. In addition, the proposed action 
will provide

[[Page 17186]]

additional rail capacity along the existing rail corridor(s) that would 
be used for the new route. It will also allow for the space currently 
occupied by the St. Charles Airline tracks and the CN mainline tracks 
along the Lake Michigan lakefront north of Grand Crossing to be used to 
serve future public needs.
    The project is located principally on existing railroad rights-of-
way owned by CN, NS, and the Metra commuter railroad. The project 
area--bounded by 117th Street on the south, Lake Michigan on the east, 
Pershing Road on the north, and Halsted Street on the west--consists of 
urban residential and industrial land uses; no significant natural 
resource impacts are anticipated. Potential impacts may include 
residential and commercial relocations, effects on community cohesion 
and low-income and minority populations, economic impacts, and impacts 
to publicly owned parks, properties potentially eligible for listing on 
the National Register of Historic Places, special waste sites, and 
public facilities and services. There is also the potential for noise 
and vibration, and air quality impacts.
    In an attempt to address the full range of issues related to this 
proposed action and identify all substantive issues, this project is 
being developed using the principles of Context Sensitive Solutions per 
the Illinois Department of Transportation's Policies and Procedures. A 
Stakeholder Involvement Plan (SIP) will be developed that will detail 
the public involvement activities that will be conducted as part of 
this study and will address the Coordination Plan requirements of 23 
U.S.C. 139(g) within the context of the National Environmental Policy 
Act (NEPA) process. Under the SIP, an interdisciplinary Project Study 
Group will be formed to develop the project, and a Community Advisory 
Group will be formed to provide input to the study process. As part of 
the EIS process, a scoping meeting for obtaining input from resource 
agencies will be held in June 2011 and invitations will be sent to the 
resource agencies. Public informational meetings, focus meetings with 
stakeholders, a public hearing, newsletters, a project Web site, and 
interest group meetings will provide additional opportunities for 
public involvement. The project's Draft EIS will be available for 
public and agency review prior to the public hearing. The time and 
location of the public hearing will be announced in local newspapers. 
Comments or questions concerning this proposed action and the Draft EIS 
should be directed to FHWA or the Illinois Department of Transportation 
at the addresses provided above.

(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.)

    Issued on: March 21, 2011.
Jon-Paul Kohler,
Planning and Program Development Manager, Springfield, Illinois.
[FR Doc. 2011-7203 Filed 3-25-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-22-P