New Hampshire

Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS)



A public hearing to present and discuss a summary of the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (Draft SEIS) was held at the Derry Municipal Center on September 14, 2009. All public comments received on the Draft SEIS are being considered by NHDOT and FHWA and all revisions attributed to these comments will be incorporated into the Final SEIS as appropriate.

Development of the Final SEIS is ongoing. However, the completion date for publishing the final statement will be delayed by four to five months from previous estimates while a new construction schedule and funding plan (project implementation plan) is developed, reviewed and approved by the regional planning commissions (RPC's), metropolitan planning organizations (MPO's) and FHWA. The proposed modification to the project implementation plan will change the project completion date from 2017 to 2020. The new target date for the completion of the SEIS process, as a result of these proposed changes, is now anticipated in August 2010.

History

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 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 (PNR) facilities. Early action projects include in this preliminary agreement that have been completed to date are the Cross St Bridge Replacement (Salem), Exit 2 PNR (Salem), Exit 5 PNR (Londonderry), Exit 5 Bus Terminal and Bus Maintenance Facility and Reconstruction of a portion of Rte 28 (Londonderry). Another early action project to remove/reconstruct seven (7) red-listed bridges at Exit 1 was completed in November 2009.

The 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.

Following the ruling, the Federal District Court approved an agreement allowing additional I-93 construction projects 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. It includes two projects at Exit 3 in Windham and one at Exit 5 in Londonderry. The Windham projects include the Southbound Off-Ramp and Bridges over NH 111 and NH 111A, and Northbound Mainline reconstruction, awarded to The Middlesex Corporation and George R. Cairns & Sons, Inc. respectively. The project in Londonderry includes the reconstruction/reconfiguration of the southbound on- and off-ramps and the northbound on-ramp. This project was awarded to Severino Construction and construction started in July 2008. This project will be complete in May 2010.


September 22, 2009 Public Meeting Presentation


Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Study

 
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