Action
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
Summary
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) intend to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in accordance to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended, on the proposed Bi-County Transitway Project in Montgomery and Prince George's Counties, Maryland, which are in the metropolitan area of Washington, DC. The corridor extends 14 miles from the western branch of the Metrorail Red Line in Bethesda to the New Carrollton Metrorail Station. The Bi-County Transitway will provide high-capacity transit along the corridor. As a result of rapid growth in travel and development, the Bethesda to New Carrollton study area is facing numerous transportation challenges. The growing service sector job base has increased the vitally important need for efficient transit. The transit investment will compliment and support ongoing revitalization efforts currently underway in the study area. This project includes the alignment previously known as the Georgetown Branch Transitway/Trail (Bethesda to Silver Spring). A notice of intent to prepare an EIS for the Georgetown Branch Transitway and Trail was published in the Federal Register on September 21, 1994. Subsequently, the Georgetown Branch became known as the "Western" segment of the Purple Line. The current Bi-County Transitway Project now also includes what was known as the Purple Line "East", which extended from Silver Spring to New Carrollton. The Bi-County Transitway study area is now defined as all of the earlier Purple Line project area between Bethesda and New Carrollton. The EIS will address the need to improve transit access, reduce travel times and improve connectivity in response to regional growth, traffic congestion, and land use plans for the area. The EIS will examine potential impacts and benefits to the social, cultural, economic, built and natural environment. The EIS will develop and evaluate alternatives that are cost efficient and beneficial. Improvements that enhance connections to existing transit systems, increase access to transit and to economic development areas, and minimize adverse impacts will be identified. The EIS will evaluate the No-Build Alternative, Transportation Systems Management (TSM) Alternative, Build Alternatives for Bus-Rapid Transit (BRT) and Light Rail Transit (LRT), and any additional alternatives generated by the scoping process. In addition to mode, the Build Alternative will consider alignments, grade options, station locations, and facilities such as maintenance and storage yard, inspection and Operation Control Center (OCC), traction power substations and tiebreaker stations. Scoping Meetings: Public scoping for the Bi-County Transitway EIS will be held on: September 16 at the Holiday Inn-Silver Spring, 8777 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910; September 17 at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, 4301 East West Highway, Bethesda, Maryland 20615; and September 24 at College Park City Hall, 4500 Knox Road, College Park, Maryland 20740. All scoping meetings will be from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., and will be carried out in an open house format. Details on meetings dates, project updates, times and locations will be announced on the project Web site www.Bi-CountyTransitway.com and in a project newsletter. Comments and input may be provided at the scoping meetings. Information will be available in English and in Spanish and will be published in the following newspapers: The Washington Post, The Gazette, The Washington City Paper, The Washington Hispanic, The Washington Times, The Takoma Voice, and The Washington Afro-American Newspaper.