ARCHIVED DOCUMENTS - Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (Draft SEIS)
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The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT&PF) and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) published a Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) and Draft Section 4(f) Evaluation on March 27, 2015. The Draft SEIS and Section 4(f) Evaluation comment period was open March 27 to May 26, 2015. DOT&PF and FHWA reviewed comments received on the Draft SEIS and Draft Section 4(f) Evaluation and addressed those comments as they prepared the Final EIS, released March 9, 2018.
The Draft SEIS is a large document with many components. The Executive Summary is intended as a short and easy-to-read synopsis of the entire Draft EIS, but it necessarily leaves out detail. The full text of the Draft SEIS provides detail, and still more detail may be found in Related Reports published separately.
March 2015 Draft SEIS Documents and Maps |
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Draft SEIS Documents  |
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March 2015 |
Cover Letter - 170 kb Cover, Signature Page, and Contents - 1 Mb Executive Summary - 5 Mb Chapter 1 Purpose and Need - 2 Mb Chapter 2 Project Alternatives - 3 Mb Chapter 3.0 Contents - 223 kb Chapter 3.1 Land Ownership - 1 Mb Chapter 3.2 Land Use Plans Policies - 2 Mb Chapter 3.3 Social Environment - 528 kb Chapter 3.4 Housing and Relocation - 263 kb Chapter 3.5 Economic Environment - 416 kb Chapter 3.6 Transportation - 2 Mb Chapter 3.7 River Navigation - 593 kb Chapter 3.8 Park and Recreation - 782 kb Chapter 3.9 Historic and Archaeological Preservation - 521 kb Chapter 3.10 Subsistence - 574 kb Chapter 3.11 Utilities - 365 kb Chapter 3.12 Geology and Topography - 412 kb Chapter 3.13 Water Bodies and Water Quality - 792 kb Chapter 3.14 Air Quality - 208 kb Chapter 3.15 Noise - 755 kb Chapter 3.16 Visual Environment - 1 mb Chapter 3.17 Hazardous Waste Sites and Spills - 701 kb Chapter 3.18 Energy - 203 kb Chapter 3.19 Floodplains - 471 kb Chapter 3.20 Wetlands and Vegetation - 951 kb Chapter 3.21 Fish and Essential Fish Habitat - 703 kb Chapter 3.22 Wildlife - 1 Mb Chapter 3.23 Coastal Zone Management - 390 kb Chapter 3.24 Permits - 304 kb Chapter 3.25 Short-Term Uses vs Long-Term Productivity - 173 kb Chapter 3.26 Irreversible Irretrievable Commitments of Resources - 211 kb Chapter 3.27 Cumulative Impacts - 1 Mb Chapter 4 4(f) Evaluation - 6 Mb Chapter 5 Comments and Coordination - 724 kb Chapter 6 List of Preparers - 218 kb Chapter 7 Distribution List - 224 kb Chapter 8 References - 401 kb Chapter 9 Index - 225 kb Appendix A Crash Report - 830 kb Appendix B Relocation Study - 929 kb Appendix C ANILCA 810 Evaluation - 748 kb Appendix D Noise Report - 3 Mb |
| Draft SEIS Maps (jpeg files) | |
| March 2015 | Chapter 1 - jpegs
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 4 - Avoidance Maps
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| Final EIS Meeting Materials |
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March 2015 |
Poster Boards - 20 Mb |
AlternativesJuneau Creek Alternative (Selected Alternative) The Juneau Creek Alternative is identified in the Final EIS as the preferred alternative. The Juneau Creek Alternative deviates from the existing alignment more than the other alternatives—about 10 of 14 miles would be on a new alignment. As a result, this alternative would carry highway traffic farther away from the Kenai River over the longest distance, which best protects the river, and would also avoid local traffic and community impacts in the Cooper Landing area. It would run north of Cooper Landing and north of the Kenai River, climbing the hillside and crossing Juneau Creek Canyon with a new bridge south of Juneau Creek Falls. This bridge would be the longest single-span bridge in Alaska. The Juneau Creek Alternative would cross the Resurrection Pass National Recreation Trail and mitigation measures have been provided to lessen the effects of that crossing. Toward its west end, the new alignment would cross land currently designated as part of the Mystery Creek Wilderness area in the KNWR and would rejoin the existing highway at about MP 56. However, the affected KNWR land north of the highway is expected to be exchanged with Cook Inlet Region, Inc. under provisions signed into law in the Russian River Land Act, so no use of Wilderness land is expected. Mitigation is also provided for wildlife movement, which includes four wildlife crossing structures, including the first wildlife overpass of a highway in Alaska. For more information on why DOT&PF and FHWA have identified this alternative as preferred, and to compare it to the other alternatives, see the FAQ page (links below).
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| Other Alternatives Evaluated |
No Build Alternative The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires that an EIS describe and analyze the impacts of not building the project as a benchmark that allows for comparison of the environmental effects of the various project alternatives. In the EIS, this alternative is called the “No Build Alternative.” Under the No Build Alternative, the highway would remain much as it is today, with only maintenance and already programmed work assumed to occur. NOTE: Videos may be large and take a moment to load. |
Cooper Creek Alternative The Cooper Creek Alternative follows the existing alignment for most of its length. Only about 3.5 miles would be located on a new alignment, routed south of a portion of Cooper Landing. This alternative would include construction of three large bridges—two replacing existing Kenai River bridges and one new large bridge over Cooper Creek. The Cooper Creek Alternative would have the greatest impacts on Cooper Landing (property, relocations, noise, and traffic) and would not address the project purpose and need as well as other alternatives. It would continue to carry all traffic close to the Kenai River (a risk to water quality and fish) and close to recreation destinations that have seasonally heavy local traffic.
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G South Alternative The G South Alternative would construct 5.5 miles of new alignment skirting north of Cooper Landing and the Kenai River, reconnecting with the existing alignment near MP 52. This alternative was designed to avoid impacts to the Resurrection Pass Trail and Juneau Creek Falls Recreation Area. This alternative would include construction of three bridges—one replacing an existing bridge over the Kenai River and two new bridges, a large bridge over lower Juneau Creek, and one new bridge over the Kenai River. The G South Alternative would continue to carry all traffic close to the Kenai River (a risk to water quality and fish) and close to recreation destinations that have seasonally heavy local traffic. It is the only alternative that would create a new bridge over the Kenai River, adding risk to water quality and impacting the recreational experience available on the river (a state park unit). It also would impact an area considered to be important brown bear habitat. DOT&PF and FHWA did not have a preferred alternative when the DSEIS was published. They initially identified the G South Alternative as preferred. With release of the Final EIS, they have reconsidered the preferred alternative based on comments received and based on changes in area.
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Juneau Creek Variant Alternative The Juneau Creek Variant Alternative is almost the same as the Juneau Creek Alternative but was specifically designed to avoid use of land from the KNWR and the Mystery Creek Wilderness. The Juneau Creek Variant Alternative would rejoin the existing alignment at MP 55 of the existing highway adjacent to Sportsman’s Landing. The alternative includes one large bridge crossing Juneau Creek Canyon. It would be the longest single-span bridge in Alaska. The Juneau Creek Variant Alternative would impact the heart of the Sqilantnu Russian River Confluence Site, which is considered to be a Traditional Cultural Property, as well as the Resurrection Pass National Recreation Trail.
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