Supplemental Environmental Impact Study
In February of 2006 the CLF filed suit against the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and NHDOT seeking an injunction against the I-93 Improvement projects. During the court case, the CLF agreed not to block the projects that would not necessitate the widening of the highway. These projects fell into two categories: repair/replacement of red list bridges, and construction of park and ride facilities. The projects that have begun are Cross St Bridge Replacement (Salem), Exit 2 PNR (Salem), Exit 5 PNR (Londonderry) and Exit 1 Ramp and Bridge Replacements (Salem).
The long anticipated ruling was handed down in late August, 2007. Of the many counts included in the CLF suit, only one was found to have merit - that newer population projections should have been utilized in determining the project’s impacts. As a result, the DOT was ordered by the Court to prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) to address the following:
- How potential induced population growth could impact the effectiveness of the four-lane alternative as a traffic congestion reduction measure, and
- How indirect effects of potential induced population growth could impact air quality and traffic on secondary roads.
The DOT is expediting efforts to finalize the SEIS and is hopeful to obtain a Record of Decision from FHWA by the end of 2008. Public Information meetings were held on March 18 &19, 2008. Preliminary results from the traffic model were presented. Preliminary conclusions that can be drawn from work to date include:
- I-93 Improvements will reduce traffic on alternate parallel routes; traffic will move back onto I-93.
- Original expectations about the need for, and effectiveness of, the I-93 Project are confirmed.
- Analysis of traffic and air quality on secondary roads will be reported in the Draft SEIS.
Work to complete the Draft SEIS continues. A Public Hearing to present the document for comments is anticipated for the Fall of 2008.
Since the ruling in August, the Federal District Court approved an agreement allowing some I-93 construction work to move ahead. The construction work allowed by this agreement is focused on removing traffic from “red list” bridges in an effort to improve safety along the I-93 corridor. These three projects are scheduled for construction in 2008. They include two projects with work at Exit 3 in Windham and one project with work at Exit 5 in Londonderry.
