Original Federal Street Multimodal Connector Environmental Assessment
Please read below. Documents are linked at bottom of page.
On November 26, 2012, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), cooperating with the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) and the City of Saint Albans (City), released for public review an Environmental Assessment (EA) pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to discuss the effects of the proposed Federal Street Multimodal Connector Project. This project involves reconstructing the Federal Street corridor to improve its use by automobiles, trucks, pedestrians, bicyclists, and public transit. These improvements would provide a parallel urban collector route to divert through and truck traffic from the City’s downtown and create an alternative access to Interstate 89.
The Proposed Action would encompass a total of 2.1 miles of roadway, including a section of new roadway linking the Federal Street corridor to the Interstate Access Road. The typical roadway section would include 11-ft. travel lanes in each direction, 4-ft. wide (min.) bicycle lanes (5-ft. wide where on-street parking is provided); 2 to 4-ft. wide grass utility strips, and 5-ft. wide sidewalks. Intersection improvements would be carried out at locations with long-standing deficiencies in roadway geometry and pedestrian management, including at the intersection of Lake Street with Allen, Catherine, and Federal Streets, and the intersection of Lemnah Drive at Lower Welden Street.
The FHWA allocated funds for the design and construction of the Federal Street Multimodal Connector Project through the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), a federal transportation bill enacted in 2005. Thus, for purposes of NEPA, the federal action is defined as construction of the Federal Street Multimodal Connector Project.
The EA contains information on the purpose and need for the proposed project; the range of alternatives considered; and an evaluation of the environmental consequences of the Proposed Action, including its direct effects, indirect effects, and cumulative impacts. An electronic version of the EA is available for review below.