The FHWA and NYSDOT completed and signed a Joint National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)/State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) Record of Decision (ROD) and SEQRA Findings Statement, dated June 3,2014, on the New York Gateway Connections Improvement Project to the US Peace Bridge Plaza. All comments received during the 30 day comment period were addressed in the project’s Record of Decision. This comment period provided the public, elected officials, and federal, state and local agencies an additional opportunity to submit comments before completion of the environmental review process. Comments were accepted up to May 5, 2014. Members of the project staff as well as interpreters for Spanish, Karen, Somali, Arabic, Burmese and Nepali, were present to answer questions and provide information about the project.Īlthough not required by law or regulation, the FHWA and NYSDOT provided a 30 day public comment period on the FEIS. Approximately 40 people attended the two open houses. On April 9 and April 10, 2014, two community open houses were held to provide additional opportunities for community stakeholders to discuss the project and ask questions of project team representatives. The FEIS was made publically available and a Notice of Availability was published in the Federal Register on April 4, 2014. The build alternative for the New York Gateway Connections Improvement project was selected by the FHWA and NYSDOT and is described in Chapter 3, “Alternatives” of the FEIS. The New York State Department of Transportation completed the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) (#FHWA-NY-EIS-13-02-F) for this project and the document was signed by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) on March 26, 2014. Revised Gateway Connections Coordination Plan - March 26, 2014 NY Gateway Connections Coordination Plan can be viewed here: Read the Notice of Intent for the project The project was awarded on October 24, 2014, and project completion is expected in summer of 2017. The primary objectives of the project are to address the need for direct access from the Plaza to the northbound lanes of Interstate 190, to redirect through traffic from Front Park, and to remove Baird Drive. The purpose of the project is to reduce the use of the local streets by interstate traffic and provide access to the existing Plaza at its current location.
This limited access adds additional commercial traffic to the local streets which were originally designed to only meet the needs of local traffic. Existing direct access is limited and requires regional and international traffic to use the local street system. The primary need of the project is to address the limited direct access between the Plaza and Interstate 190. The Federal Highway Administration, in cooperation with the New York State Department of Transportation, is preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) on a proposal to provide improved access to and from the US Border Port of Entry/Peace Bridge Plaza, in the City of Buffalo.