Action
Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
Summary
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA), in cooperation with the Transit Authority of River City (TARC), intends to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Louisville South Central Corridor Rapid Transit Project in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The EIS will consider alternatives for improving rapid transit service within an approximately 15-mile-long corridor that begins at the Ohio River in the Louisville Central Business District (CBD) and proceeds through the Medical Center; through Smoketown and Shelby Park; through the University of Louisville campus and the Louisville International Airport and ends on the west side of I-65 near the Gene Snyder Freeway/Interstate 65 interchange. The EIS will evaluate the following alternatives: a No-Build Alternative, a Transportation Systems Management (TSM) Alternative consisting of low to medium cost improvements to local bus services and facilities, Light Rail Transit (LRT) Alternatives, any additional reasonable alternatives identified during the EIS scoping process. The LRT alternatives will include a supporting bus plan. The Major Investment Study (MIS) for this project, the Transportation Tomorrow (T2) Major Investment Study, was completed by TARC in November 1998. A corridor refinement study was completed in August 2000. Other previous studies leading to the proposed LRT include: the 1993 TARC Transitional Study that recommended two priority corridors, including the South Central Corridor, for detailed consideration of alternative transit improvements; the 1995 KIPDA Regional Mobility 2010 Transportation Plan; and the Phase 1 systemwide plan re-examination that resulted in the 1997 selection of the South Central Corridor as the priority corridor for the MIS. Scoping will be accomplished through meetings and correspondence with interested persons and businesses, organizations, the general public, federal and state agencies.