[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 224 (Monday, November 22, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68002-68003]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-25805]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration


Environmental Impact Statement: Riverside County, CA

AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration, Department of Transportation.

ACTION: Notice of Intent.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), in cooperation with 
the Riverside County Transportation Commission (RCTC) and the 
California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), is issuing this 
notice to advise the public that an Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) will be prepared for the proposed Mid County Parkway (MCP) 
project. The EIS will study alternatives to implement the proposed Mid 
County Parkway project in western Riverside County between Interstate 
15 (I-15) to the west and State Route 79 (SR 79) to the east.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tay Dam, Senior Transportation 
Engineer, Federal Highway Administration--Los Angeles Metro Office, 201 
N. Figueroa Street, Suite 1460, Los Angeles, California 90012. 
Telephone: (213) 202-3954. Fax: (213) 202-3961 or Cathy Bechtel, 
Riverside County Transportation Commission, 4080 Lemon Street, 3rd 
Floor, P.O. Box 12008, Riverside, CA 92502-2208. Telephone: (951) 787-
7141. Fax: (951) 787-7920.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposed Mid County Parkway is located 
in an area of western Riverside County that is currently undergoing 
substantial population and employment growth. The study area is located 
on either side of the existing roadway known as Cajalco Road between I-
15 and I-215 and as Ramona Expressway east of I-215. The proposed 
action would adopt an alignment for the Mid County Parkway and 
construct a major limited access transportation facility to meet 
current and projected travel demand for 2030 and I-15 on the west to 
SR-79 on the east. The purpose of the project is to effectively and 
efficiently accommodate the regional east-west movement of people and 
goods between and through the cities of San Jacinto, Perris and Corona. 
The project will also provide roadway geometries to meet State highway 
design standards, accommodate the Surface Transportation Assistance Act 
(STAA) National Network oversized trucks and provide a facility that is 
compatible with a future multimodal transportation system.
    The Mid County Parkway project is a part of the long-term 
transportation planning project in Riverside County called the 
Community and Environmental Transportation Acceptability Process 
(CETAP). CETAP is a component of comprehensive land use and 
transportation planning in Riverside County known as the Riverside 
County Integrated Project. CETAP was one of the first seven projects in 
the nation to be processed under Executive Order 13274 for 
``Environmental Stewardship and Transportation Infrastructure 
Reviews''.
    Eight alternatives for the Mid County Parkway project have been 
developed for evaluation in the EIS, including a no action alternative. 
Many of the parkway alignment alternatives share common segments. 
Generally, Alternatives 2 through 5 vary in terms of whether the route 
is directed north or south of Lake Mathews and whether the route 
follows a northerly or southerly alignment through the City of Perris. 
Alternatives 6 and 7 incorporate the General Plan arterial designations 
for both Cajalco Road and El Sobrante west of Wood Road around Lake 
Mathews. The parkway component of Alternatives 6 and 7 is limited to 
the area east of Wood Road.
    Alternatives under consideration include: (1) No Project/No Action; 
(2) North Lake Mathews/North Perris Parkway Alternative; (3) North Lake 
Mathews/South Perris Parkway Alternative; (4) South Lake Mathews/North 
Perris Parkway Alternative; (5) South Lake Mathews/South Perris Parkway 
Alternative; (6) General Plan/North Perris Alternative; (7) General 
Plan/South Perris Alternative; and (8) General Plan Circulation 
Element. These basic alternatives will have additional design 
variations and other engineering details. A final selection of study 
alternatives and their subset variations will not be made until all 
public and agency comments are reviewed following the scoping process.

    Note: As required by the National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA) of 1969, all other reasonable alternatives including a no-
build alternative will be considered. These alternatives may be 
refined, combined with various different alternative elements or be 
removed from further consideration as more analysis is conducted on 
the project alternatives. Letters describing the proposed action and 
soliciting comments will be sent to appropriate federal, State, and 
local agencies, and to private organizations and citizens who have 
previously expressed, or are known to have, an interest in this 
proposal. Three public scoping meetings will be held in December 
2004. Public notice will be given of the time and place of these 
meetings.

    Public hearings will be held after the draft EIS is completed. 
Public notice will be given of the time and place of the hearings. The 
draft EIS will be available for public and agency review and comment 
prior to the formal public hearings.
    To ensure that the full range of issues related to the proposed 
action is addressed and all significant issues are identified, comments 
and suggestions are invited from all interested parties. Comments or 
questions concerning this proposed action and the EIS should be 
directed to the FHWA at the addresses provided above.

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


[[Page 68003]]


    Issued on November 16, 2004.
Mr. John E. Dewar,
Chief Operating Officer, California Division, Federal Highway 
Administration.
[FR Doc. 04-25805 Filed 11-19-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-22-M