Vantage to Pomona FEIS Index 34 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Vantage to Pomona Heights Chapter 3 230 kV Transmission Line Project FEIS Affected Environment PAGE 3-179 For the proposed Project, WSDOT is responsible for processing Pacific Power’s utility permit or franchise application(s) to cross the I-82 and SR-243. I-82 is potentially crossed in three locations and SR 243 is crossed in two locations. WSDOT would also be responsible for coordinating FHWA’s review and concurrence of a permanent access break for a utility installation across I-82, providing an easement through WSDOT property, and providing any additional documentation for compliance with National Environmental Policy Act, State Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the National Historic Preservation Act. Section 4(f) Applicability Section 4(f) refers to the original section within the U.S. Department of Transportation Act of 1966 which established the requirement for consideration of park and recreational lands, wildlife and waterfowl refuges, and historic sites in transportation project development. In a letter to the BLM (dated August 30, 2013), the FHWA has determined that Section 4(f) does not apply to the Project because it is not a transportation project as defined by case law and because the FHWA is not providing any funding for the Project (FHWA 2013). WSDOT State roads in the Project study area are managed by the South-Central and North-Central WSDOT regions. Management considerations and decisions made by WSDOT are based on a multi-year plan, which is updated every year by WSDOT and approved by the FHWA. This plan, the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP; WSDOT 2015) is for the years 2015-2018. The WSDOT STIP provides planning guidance, necessity, and cost to programs such as road improvements, new road projects, and future transportation-related studies. STIP roadway improvement projects in the Project study area include: • Minor improvements totaling approximately $73,000 at the SR 26/243 intersection. These improvements include but are not limited to a Vehicle Speed Display, striping changes, and improved sight distance. • Chip sealing on SR-24 starting two miles east of Badger Lane to 7.4 miles west of SR-241. There are no other projects within the STIP within Grant, Kittitas, and Yakima Counties which occur in the Project study area. All state highways are identified as limited access or managed access. Limited Access Highways are highways in which the abutting property owner’s right of access to the state highway has been purchased, with the result being that the abutting property owner may or, in most cases, may not have access to the state highway. Limited access highways are further defined as Full, Partial, or Modified limited access control. Full limited access control highways, the most restrictive, allow no direct private property access at all; for example, the interstate system, in which public access is only allowed at interchanges. I-82 is considered a full limited access highway. Partial limited access control highways may allow access, but only in specified locations and only for the specified use, such as single family residential or farm use, as defined in the Limited Access Plans. Partial limited access control highways allow no commercial usage of the access, such as retail or industrial. Modified limited access control, the least restrictive of the three, allows residential and commercial usage, but only in the specified locations and only for the specified uses as defined in the Limited Access Plans.