Final supplemental environmental impact statement: Saddle Road (State Route 200) Mamalahoa Highway (State Route 190) to Milepost 41

Author:

United States. Federal Highway Administration. Central Federal Lands Highway Division,, Hawaii Department of Transportation,

Title:

Final supplemental environmental impact statement: Saddle Road (State Route 200) Mamalahoa Highway (State Route 190) to Milepost 41

Periodical:

Infrastructure

Year:

2010

Volume:

2 v.

Subject:

Roads environmental aspects Hawaii Island Highway planning Hawaii Island Saddle Road Environmental impact analysis Pohakuloa Training Area (PTA)

Summary:

This Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) describes and evaluates the impacts associated with the new alternative alignment for the proposed improvement of Section I of the Saddle Road, which extends from Mamalahoa Highway (SR 190) near Milepost 53 to Milepost 41, making up the western of the Saddle Road (Figure S-1). Saddle Road extends between Mileposts 6 and 53. Sections II and III of Saddle Road, between Mileposts 8.5 and 41, have already been completed or are advancing towards completion along the alignments identified in the 1999 Final EIS for the entire project. Section IV is currently in final design, leaving Section I as the last piece planned for construction. In 2006, the Department of the Army (the Army) purchased for military training a property known as the Keamuku parcel. The alignment selected for Section I of the improved Saddle Road in the 1999 Record of Decision (ROD), termed W-3, essentially divides the Keamuku parcel in half. In order to provide a safe separation of civilian transportation and military training, the Army requested that the Federal Highway Administration and the Hawaii Department of Transportation find another alternative alignment near the southern boundary of Keamuku for the realignment of this section of Saddle Road. Because reducing conflicts with and hazards related to military operations is an element of the purpose and need of the project, FHWA and DOT are studying this new proposed alignment of Saddle Road, which has been termed W-7, in this SEIS. In Section 1, this existing Saddle Road is a narrow, winding, two-land road with steep grades, sharp curves, poor pavement conditions, and no shoulders. As with W-3, W-7 would be a new two-land roadway with shoulders, climbing lanes where necessary, and a design speed of 60 miles per hour. The realigned highway would improve pavement conditions, increase safety and capacity, improve quality of traffic flow, decrease cross-island travel times, and stimulate economic growth and development. Environmental impacts related to wildfire potential, protected species of flora and fauna, and archaeological resources have been avoided or greatly reduced through design or can be otherwise mitigated to acceptable levels. The No Action Alternative, which was not selected in the 1999 EIS for reasons of safety for motorists and non-motorized traffic, circulation, and land use impacts, would continue use of the existing alignment. As it has already been rejected, the No Action Alternative is not under consideration in this SEIS and is referenced for baseline purposes only, as is W-3. If it is not feasible to construct W-7, FHWA and DOT expect to build W-3, the alternative selected in the 1999 ROD.

URL:

http://oeqc2.doh.hawaii.gov/EA_EIS_Library/2010-02-23-HA-FSEIS-Acceptance-Saddle-Road-Mamalahoa-Hwy.pdf http://oeqc2.doh.hawaii.gov/EA_EIS_Library/2010-02-23-HA-FSEIS-Acceptance-Saddle-Road-Mamalahoa-Hwy-App.pdf

Date:

February 2010

Collection:

EIS