Opinion ID: 570498
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Interchange Reports and Environmental Assessments.

Text: 16 The new plan for the Interchange was evaluated in several reports issued by FHWA and NYDOT. In April 1988, NYDOT issued a Summary Transportation Project Report announcing plans for the improved Interchange design. The report criticized the existing Interchange as inadequate and outdated, providing both poor local access and unsuitable connections between I-287 and the Thruway upon completion of the I-287 Project. 17 In May 1990, the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT), FHWA, and NYDOT issued a combined Design Report and Environmental Assessment/Reevaluation (the Draft EA) describing the design of the new Interchange and evaluating the environmental impact of the new design. Following a period of public comment and a public hearing, including input from plaintiffs-appellants, the agencies issued a Final Design Report/Environmental Assessment/Reevaluation (the Final EA). The Final EA stated that NYDOT, [b]ased on the conclusions reached in this report, ... will request FHWA's finding that there are no significant impacts not previously identified by the [1982 EIS], and FHWA's concurrence that a Supplemental [EIS] is not required. FHWA then determined that a new EIS or supplemental EIS (SEIS) was not required. 18 The Final EA responded to contentions made by plaintiffs-appellants' counsel that an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is required and that the scope of the [draft EA] is deficient. Inter alia, in reply to an expressed concern regarding the Tappan Zee Scenic District, 1 the Final EA asserted that [t]he revised interchange design will not affect traffic volumes or patterns in eastern Rockland County. 19 Two other studies warrant mention. 20