[Federal Register: July 14, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 135)]
[Notices]
[Page 40176-40178]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr14jy06-155]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
Environmental Impact Statement: DesertXpress High Speed Train
Between Victorville, CA and Las Vegas, NV
AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), U.S. Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement.
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SUMMARY: The FRA is issuing this notice to advise the public that an
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will be prepared for the proposed
DesertXpress high-speed train project. The project includes passenger
stations, a maintenance facility, and a new railroad line along the I-
15 corridor between Victorville, California and Las Vegas, Nevada. FRA
is issuing this notice to solicit public and agency input into the
development of the scope of the EIS and to advise the public that
outreach activities conducted by the FRA will be considered in the
preparation of the EIS. Federal cooperating agencies for the EIS are
the Surface Transportation Board (STB), the Federal Highway
Administration (FHWA) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
Alternatives to be evaluated and analyzed in the EIS include (1) take
no action (No-Project or No-Build); and, (2) construction of a
privately financed steel-wheel-on-steel-rail high-speed train,
including a proposed station in Victorville and a station in Las Vegas,
and a maintenance facility in Victorville. Several alternative routings
would be considered in the EIS.
DATES: Three scoping meetings will be held during July of 2006. Scoping
meetings will be advertised locally and are scheduled for the following
cities on the dates indicated below:
July 25, 2006, Las Vegas Nevada at The White House, 3260
Joe Brown Drive time 5-8 pm.
July 26, 2006, Barstow, California at the Ramada Inn, 1571
E. Main Street, time 12--2 pm, and
July 26, 2006, Victorville, California at the San
Bernardino County Fairgrounds Building 3, time 5-8 pm.
Persons interested in providing comments on the scope of the EIS
should do so by August 15, 2006. Comments can be sent to Mr. David
Valenstein at the FRA address identified below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. David Valenstein, Environmental
Program Manager, Office of Railroad Development, Federal Railroad
Administration, 1120 Vermont Avenue, (Mail Stop 20), Washington, DC
20590, (telephone 202/ 493-6368). Information and documents regarding
the environmental review process will be made available through the
FRA's Web site: http://www.fra.dot.gov at Passenger Rail, Environment,
Current Reviews, DesertXpress.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FRA will prepare an Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) for the proposed DesertXpress high-speed train project.
The FRA is an operating administration of the U.S. Department of
Transportation and is primarily responsible for railroad safety
[[Page 40177]]
regulation. Federal cooperating agencies for the EIS are the Surface
Transportation Board (STB), the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The BLM has approval authority
over the use of public lands under their control. The FHWA has
jurisdiction over the use and/or modification of land within the I-15
right of way. The STB has exclusive jurisdiction, pursuant to 49 U.S.C.
10501(b), over the construction, acquisition, operation and abandonment
of rail lines, railroad rates and services and rail carrier
consolidations and mergers. The construction and operation of the
proposed DesertXpress high-speed train project is subject to STB's
approval authority under 49 U.S.C. 10901. To the extent appropriate,
the EIS will address environmental concerns raised by federal, state
and local agencies during the EIS process.
Project Description: DesertXpress Enterprises, LLC (the project
Applicant) proposes to construct and operate a privately financed
interstate high-speed passenger train, with a proposed station in
Victorville, California and a station in Las Vegas, Nevada, along a
200-mile corridor, within or adjacent to the I-15 freeway for about 170
miles and adjacent to existing railroad lines for about 30 miles.
The need for the project is directly related to the rapid increase
in travel demand between Southern California and Las Vegas, coupled
with the growth in population in the areas surrounding Victorville,
Barstow, Primm and Las Vegas, which has resulted in substantial
congestion along the I-15 freeway between Victorville and Las Vegas.
Ridership is estimated to be 4.1 million round trips in the first full
year of service. To accommodate this level of ridership, trains would
operate from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., daily, 365 days a year at 20 to 30
minute intervals during peak periods.
The project would involve construction of a fully grade-separated,
dedicated double track passenger-only railroad along an approximately
200-mile corridor, from Victorville California to Las Vegas, Nevada.
Where the railroad alignment would be within the I-15 freeway corridor,
continuous concrete truck barriers, as well as American Railway
Engineering and Maintenance of Way Association crash barriers at all
supporting columns of bridges at freeway interchanges and overpasses
would be provided. The project would include the construction of a
passenger station, as well as maintenance, storage and operations
facility in Victorville and one passenger station in Las Vegas.
The proposed Victorville Station would be located along the west
side of I-15 between the two existing Stoddard Wells interchanges. The
facilities directly associated with the Victorville station would
occupy about 60 acres of land, and would have a parking capacity for up
to 10,000 automobiles. Access to the Victorville station would be via
the two existing Stoddard Wells Road Interchanges.
The Maintenance, Storage and Operations facility is proposed to be
located in the City of Victorville on a site that lies within the
Victorville Valley Economic Development Area. The facility would
require approximately 50 acres and would include a fueling station,
train washing facility, repair shop, parts storage, and operations
center. It is estimated that approximately 400 employees would be based
at this facility.
The Las Vegas passenger station would be located at one of three
possible locations: (1) Near the south end of the Las Vegas Strip; (2)
in the center section of the Strip; or (3) in downtown Las Vegas. A
light maintenance, cleaning, and inspection facility would also be
built near the Las Vegas station.
Alternatives: A No-Build alternative will be studied as the
baseline for comparison with the proposed project. The No-Build
Alternative represents the highway (I-15) and airport (McCarran) system
physical characteristics and capacity as they exist at the time of the
EIS (2006) with planned and funded improvements that will be in place
at the time the project becomes operational. The project build
alternatives have the same stations and maintenance facility. The
railroad alignment between Victorville and Las Vegas can be divided
into 6 distinct segments. Within the segments, several build
alternatives are being considered as discussed below.
Segment 1: Victorville to Lenwood (south of Barstow, California):
Alternative A would depart the Victorville Station in a south-westerly
direction before turning north and generally following the existing
BNSF Railway Company (BNSF) railroad corridor and Route 66 to a point
just south of Barstow. Alternative B would depart the Victorville
Station and head north generally following the west side of the I-15
corridor. The alignment would diverge from the I-15 corridor near Hodge
Road and head northerly to a point just south of Barstow near the
exiting BNSF railroad corridor. Alternative B would be approximately
6.8 miles shorter than Alternative A.
Segment 2: Lenwood (South of Barstow) to Yermo, California: From a
point south of Barstow, the build alternative alignment would head
north for about five miles, cross the Mojave River and turn east
through the City of Barstow. Through Barstow the alignment would
utilize an existing, but abandoned, former Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe
railroad corridor along the north side of the Mojave River, for
approximately three miles before reaching the vicinity of the I-15 /
Old Highway 58 interchange on the eastside of Barstow. From this point
the alignment would head east along the north side of I-15 corridor
through the town of Yermo to a point just east of the agricultural
inspection station on the I-15 Freeway.
Segment 3: Yermo to Mountain Pass: There are two alignment
alternatives in this segment: Alternative A entirely within the median
of the I-15 freeway; and Alternative B along the north side of the I-15
corridor.
Segment 4: Mountain Pass to Primm, Nevada: Alternative A would
leave the I-15 freeway corridor and head south for approximately four
miles before returning to the I-15 freeway corridor south of Primm. A
portion of this alignment may encroach on the Mojave Desert Preserve,
about one half mile south of the I-15 freeway. Alternative B would
leave the I-15 freeway corridor and head north before returning to the
I-15 freeway corridor south of Primm. A 4,000-foot long tunnel would be
necessary for Alternative B.
Segment 5: Primm to Jean, Nevada: Alternative A would be entirely
within the median of the I-15 freeway. Alternative B would continue
along the east side of the I-15 freeway corridor between Primm and
Jean.
Segment 6: Jean to Las Vegas, Nevada: There are three alternative
alignments in this segment. Alternative A would continue in the median
of the I-15 freeway into the Las Vegas passenger station. Alternative B
would cross the I-15 freeway corridor from the east side to the west
side and continue along the west side of the I-15 freeway corridor into
the Las Vegas passenger station. Alternative C would diverge to the
east and generally follow the existing Union Pacific railroad corridor
into the Las Vegas passenger station. To reach the downtown Las Vegas
passenger station Alternative A would leave the median of the I-15
freeway corridor near Oakey Boulevard and diverge to the east to follow
the Union Pacific railroad corridor to Bonneville Street. Alternatives
B and C would follow the
[[Page 40178]]
west side of the I-15 freeway corridor and cross at Oakey Boulevard to
the east to join the Union Pacific railroad corridor to Bonneville
Street.
Scoping and Comments: FRA encourages broad participation in the EIS
process during scoping and review of the resulting environmental
documents. Comments and suggestions are invited from all interested
agencies and the public at large to insure the full range of issues
related to the proposed action and all reasonable alternatives are
addressed and all significant issues are identified. In particular, FRA
is interested in determining whether there are areas of environmental
concern where there might be the potential for identifiable significant
impacts. FRA invites and welcomes public agencies, communities and
members of the public to advise the FRA of their environmental
concerns, and to comment on the scope and content of the environmental
information regarding the proposed project. Persons interested in
providing comments on the scope of the EIS should send them to Mr.
David Valenstein at the FRA address identified above by August 15,
2006.
Issued in Washington, DC, on July 11, 2006.
Mark E. Yachmetz,
Associate Administrator for Railroad Development.
[FR Doc. E6-11154 Filed 7-13-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P