What level of effort will be required and performed to determine the environmental effects this project will have on its surroundings?

Following guidance outlined in PennDOT’s Design Manual* the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process for this project was coordinated between PennDOT**, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and the project design consultant team.

Based on these discussions, the anticipated proposed project improvements, along with recent guidance from the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), PennDOT and the FHWA concluded that the environmental study for Section RC3 would be an Environmental Assessment (EA), as the significance of the impacts were not yet fully known.

During the past several years, the project team has been completing the necessary environmental and engineering studies, coordinating with the various review agencies, conducting municipal and public outreach efforts, developing impact assessments, and identifying avoidance, minimization, and mitigation efforts for the project.

PennDOT will be using this information to prepare the EA documentation and will make this material available for public comment prior to finalizing the environmental process for this project, currently anticipated in Summer/Fall 2025.

  1.  *Publication 10B – Design Manual Part 1B (Post-TIP NEPA Procedures)
  2.  ** PennDOT District 6-0 and PennDOT Central Office