Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 173 / Thursday, September 6, 2018 / Notices 45299 

pursuant to the authority vested in me 

by the Act of October 19, 1965 (79 Stat. 

985; 22 U.S.C. 2459), E.O. 12047 of 

March 27, 1978, the Foreign Affairs 

Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998 

(112 Stat. 2681, et seq.; 22 U.S.C. 6501 

note, et seq.), Delegation of Authority 

No. 234 of October 1, 1999, and 

Delegation of Authority No. 236–3 of 

August 28, 2000. 

Marie Therese Porter Royce, 

Assistant Secretary for Educational and 

Cultural Affairs, Department of State. 

[FR Doc. 2018–19228 Filed 9–5–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4710–05–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Highway Administration 

Environmental Impact Statement: 

Douglas County, Kansas 

AGENCY: Federal Highway 

Administration (FHWA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of Intent. 

SUMMARY: The FHWA is issuing this 

Notice of Intent (NOI) to advise the 

public that a supplement to the final 

environmental impact statement will be 

prepared to address impacts of proposed 

improvements to a section of K–10 

Highway South Lawrence Trafficway, 

located within the south and west limits 

of the City of Lawrence, in Douglas 

County, Kansas. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Federal Highway Administration— 

Kansas Division: Richard E. Backlund, 

Division Administrator, 6111 SW 29th 

Street, Suite 100, Topeka, KS 66614– 

4271, telephone (785) 273–2600, or 

via email at: richard.backlund@

dot.gov. 

Kansas Department of Transportation: 

Catherine M. Patrick, State 

Transportation Engineer, Dwight D. 

Eisenhower State Office Building, 700 

SW Harrison Street, Topeka, KS 

66603–3745, telephone (785) 296– 

2799, or via email at: 

catherine.patrick@ks.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

FHWA, in cooperation with the Kansas 

Department of Transportation (KDOT), 

will prepare a Supplemental 

Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) 

on a proposal to improve K–10/South 

Lawrence Trafficway (SLT) located in 

Douglas County, Kansas. The overall 

project study limits begin just north of 

Interstate 70 at North 1800 Road/ 

Farmer’s Turnpike to just east of the 

existing K–10/23rd Street system 

interchange. The overall length is 19.0 

miles and i5 broken down as follows: 

The West Section begins just north of 

Interstate 70 at North 1800 Road/ 

Farmer’s/Turnpike to US–59/Iowa 

Street (approximately 8.7 miles). The 

East Section begins at US–59/Iowa 

Street and continues to the existing K– 

10/23rd Street system interchange. The 

project study area also includes East 600 

Road/Lecompton Road at Interstate 70 

(approximately 0.6 mile), and U.S. 40 

from K–10 to E 600 Road 

(approximately 4.1 miles). 

A previous Environmental Impact 

Statement (EIS) was prepared in 1990 

for the overall SLT study area. The 

Purpose and Need stated in that EIS was 

to relieve congestion on existing 23rd 

Street and Iowa Street by diverting 

through and local traffic from these two 

existing streets and Clinton Parkway, 

thereby achieving an improved level of 

traffic service on the local street 

network. The goals of the current 

proposed project on the West Section 

are to increase capacity, enhance safety, 

and address access while balancing 

sensitive project environmental features 

within the project footprint. Also, the 

project will provide an efficient and 

cost-effective transportation facility for 

users of K–10 Highway and the 

surrounding state highway system. 

As an outcome of the approved 1990 

EIS, two expressway lanes of the West 

Section were constructed and opened to 

traffic in each direction in 1996. The 

East Section was not constructed and a 

subsequent SEIS with a ‘‘No Build’’ 

decision was approved in 2000. A 

subsequent EIS, in conjunction with a 

USACE 404 Permit, was completed in 

2002 and adopted and approved by 

FHWA in November 2007. The FHWA 

then issued a Record of Decision (ROD) 

in May 2008. Since the completion of 

the ROD, the East Section four-lane 

freeway was constructed and opened to 

traffic in 2016. 

The current SEIS, as a supplement to 

the original 1990 EIS, will evaluate a 

‘No Action’ alternative as well as a 

combination of toll-free and tolled build 

alternatives for the entire SLT study 

area. Roadway configuration options 

will be evaluated for the West Section, 

including upgrading the West Section as 

a four-lane freeway with controlled 

access and interchanges at West 6th 

Street/U.S. 40, Bob Billings Parkway, 

Clinton Parkway, an interchange 

between Wakarusa Drive and Kasold 

Drive, and at U.S. 59/Iowa Street. Also, 

there will be discussions about 

interchange alternatives at I–70/East 600 

Road/Lecompton Road and K–10/I–70/ 

North 1800 Road. 

A formal scoping process will be 

initiated that involves appropriate 

Federal, State, and local agencies, as 

well as stakeholders and the public. 

This will continue throughout the study 

to engage the local and regional 

community, to obtain public input and 

to keep the public informed. 

Coordination meetings will be held as 

needed with affected/concerned local, 

State, Tribal, and Federal governmental 

entities. Public hearings will be held to 

present the findings of the SEIS. The 

SEIS will be made available for public 

and agency review and comment prior 

to the public hearings. 

The FHWA and KDOT plan to prepare 

a combined Final SEIS/Record of 

Decision for the project. The SEIS will 

analyze the potential social, economic, 

and environmental impacts resulting 

from the proposed project. The 

following issues will be specifically 

analyzed as part of the SEIS: Impacts to 

the aquatic ecosystem; impacts to 

cultural resources; impacts to 

threatened and endangered species; 

impacts to floodplains; impacts to 

transportation; impacts to parks/ 

recreation; environmental justice; 

secondary and cumulative impacts; and 

socioeconomics. This analysis will 

include a detailed examination of direct, 

indirect and cumulative impacts that 

could result from the construction of a 

selected alternative emanating from this 

SEIS. Other Federal approvals or 

permits that may be required include a 

Section 404 Permit from the U.S. Army 

Corps of Engineers (USACE), a 

floodplain development permit from the 

state office of the Federal Emergency 

Management Agency (FEMA), as well as 

water resource and floodplain permits 

from the Kansas Division of Water 

Resources. 

To ensure that the full range of issues 

related to the proposed action are 

addressed and all significant issues 

defined, comments and suggestions are 

invited from all interested parties. 

Comments or questions concerning the 

proposed action and the SETS should be 

directed to FHWA or KDOT at the 

addresses provided above. 

Issued on: August 22, 2018. 

Richard E. Backlund, 

Division Administrator FHWA—Kansas 

Division. 

[FR Doc. 2018–19224 Filed 9–5–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–22–M 


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