[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 109 (Thursday, June 7, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31649-31650]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-2814]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration


Environmental Impact Statement; Maui County, HI

AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Hawaii Department of 
Transportation (HDOT).

ACTION: Notice of Intent.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is issuing this 
notice to advise the public that an Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) will be prepared to evaluate alternatives that would improve the 
roadway capacity, safety, and reliability of Honoapiilani Highway 
between Maalaea and Launiupoko on the west side of the island of Maui. 
This section of highway is the main travel way for people and goods 
between West Maui and the rest of the island.
    The EIS will be prepared in accordance with regulations 
implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), as well as 
provisions of the recently enacted Safe, Accountable, Flexible, 
Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy of Users (SAFETEA-LU). 
The purpose of this Notice of intent is to alert interested parties 
regarding the plan to prepare the EIS, to provide information on the 
nature of the proposed project, to invite participation in the EIS 
process, including comments on the scope of the EIS proposed in this 
notice, and to announce that a public scoping meeting will be 
conducted.

[[Page 31650]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Written comments on the scope of the 
EIS should be sent to Pat V. Phung, Transportation Engineer, Federal 
Highway Administration, Hawaii Division, Box 50206, 300 Ala Moana 
Blvd., Room 3-306, Honolulu, HI 96850, within 30 days of the 
publication of this notice.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FHWA, in cooperation with the Hawaii 
Department of Transportation (HDOT), will be preparing an Environmental 
Impact Statement (EIS) for the improvement of the 11-mile segment of 
Honoapiilani Highway between Maalaea and Launiupoko in West Maui. The 
eastern limit of the project is the western terminus of the recent 
Honoapiilani Highway widening project near Maalaea. The western limit 
of the project will be southern terminus of the Lahaina Bypass Road, 
near Launiupoko Wayside Park. Highway improvements may involve 
improving portions of the existing highway and/or constructing a new 
highway along a different alignment.
    Purposes and needs for the Nonoapiilani Highway Realignment/
Widening, Maalaea to Launiupoko will be finalized after the completion 
of the scoping process. Project goals may involve: (1) Alleviate 
existing congestion; (2) Accommodate future travel demand; (3) Protect 
road from shoreline erosion; (4) Complement land use and preservation 
plans; (5) Improve reliability of access to and from West Maui; (6) 
Enhance pedestrian and vehicular mauka/makai movements; (7) Provide 
consistent roadway system linkages; (8) Enhance modal 
interrelationships and non-vehicular modes of travel; (9) Improve 
public safety for emergencies; and (10) Improve substandard road 
elements. These project purposes may be modified through the planning 
process.
    The NEPA scoping process being initiated by the publication of this 
NOI is intended to generate a full range of project alternatives for 
subsequent evaluation. The No Build alternative would leave 
Honoapiilani Highway in its current condition except for possible 
short-term and minor activities, such as safety upgrades and 
maintenance. A Transportation System Management (TSM) alternative may 
include elements such as restriping the roadway, enhancing transit 
service, establishing contra-flow lanes, widening the roadway in place 
and/or raising the roadbed in areas of high shoreline hazard. The TSM 
alternative could also include establishing and improving intersections 
along the existing roadway through techniques such as channelization, 
roundabouts, or left turn lanes.
    Other possible improvement alternatives include: (1) A new 
Kaanapali to Wailuku highway; (2) Aerial cable car; (3) Tunnel under 
the Pali; (4) Ocean causeway around the Pali; (5) Light Rail Transit 
from Lahaina to Wailuku; (6) Pave ``Haul Cane Road'' (Industrial Road, 
or Cane Haul Road;) (7) Ferries from Maalaea to either Mala Wharf, 
Lahaina small boat harbor, or a new harbor to be constructed at Cut 
Mountain; (8) Enhanced bus system; (9) Realignment included in the 
County's Pali to Puamana Plan (P2P Plan); (10) Alternative alignment 
proposed in a privately commissioned study; (11) Elevate and widen road 
within existing ROW; (12) Improve intersections along existing road; 
(13) Roadway Couplet (Westbound: 2 lanes in a mauka alignment and 
Eastbound: 2 lanes on existing road); (14) West Maui hotels provide 
enhanced shuttle service and car pools for workers; (15) Widen existing 
road to provide for contraflow operation; and (16) Widen existing road 
to provide for high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes.
    The purpose of the EIS process is to explore in a pubic setting 
potentially significant effects of implementing the proposed action on 
the physical, human, and natural environment. Areas of investigation 
for this project will include but not be limited to cultural resources, 
archaeological resources, biological resources, social impact, 
engineering feasibility, schedule, cost-benefit analysis, land use 
pattern, shoreline access, residential displacements, impacts on 
existing businesses, air quality, noise and vibration, and ease of 
implementation. Measures to avoid, minimize, or mitigate any 
significant adverse impacts will be identified. The documents that will 
be produced include an Alternatives Analysis Report (AA), Draft and 
Final Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS and FEIS), and the Record of 
Decision (ROD).
    Regulations implementing NEPA, as well as provisions of SAFETEA-LU, 
call for public involvement in the EIS process. Section 6002 of 
SAFETEA-LU requires that FHWA and HDOT do the following: (1) Extend an 
invitation to other government agencies and Native Hawaiian 
organizations that may have an interest in the proposed project to 
become ``participating agencies,'' (2) provide an opportunity for 
involvement by participating agencies and the public in helping to 
define the purpose and need for this proposed project, as well as the 
range of alternatives for consideration in the impact statement, and 
(3) establish a plan for coordinating public and agency participation 
in and comment on the environmental review process.
    To comply with these regulations, an invitation to become a 
participating agency, with a scoping information packet appended, will 
be extended to other government agencies and Native Hawaiian 
organizations that may have an interest in the proposed project.
    Community meetings will provide public-friendly and accessible 
venues for comments to be accepted regarding alternatives, scope of the 
EI, and the purpose and needs to be addressed. Community meetings will 
be held on Maui at times and locations convenient to those that work 
and live in the corridor. Meeting locations will be accessible to 
people with disabilities. Input received will be collected and 
documented. In addition to community meetings and a DEIS public 
hearing, small group meetings will be held during the planning and DEIS 
preparatory stages.
    A project Task Force will also be formed to help advise HDOT on key 
aspects of the project such as project goals, development and ranking 
of alternatives; construction phasing plan; and mitigation measures. 
Similar to all community meetings, the Task Force meetings will be open 
to the public, accessible to people with disabilities, and held on Maui 
at times and locations convenient to those that live and work in the 
corridor.

(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: May 30, 2007.
Abraham Wong,
Federal Highway Administration, Hawaii Division, HOnolulu, Hawaii.
[FR Doc. 07-2814 Filed 6-6-07; 8:45 am]
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