I-12 to Bush

• Client

  U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) / Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LA DOTD)

• Division

  Engineering

• Scope

  Environmental Impact Statement, NEPA, Line & Grade Study, Public Outreach

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) , in a third party contract with the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LA DOTD), needed to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a proposed highway between Bush, LA, and Interstate 12. This roadway would give drivers additional access between Washington and St. Tammany Parishes and I-12. Conducted in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the EIS allowed the public and relevant project executives to understand the anticipated environmental impacts attached to the proposed actions.

This project has a lengthy history of over two decades. Fenstermaker entered the scene as a sub-consultant to Tetra Tech in conducting the EIS as part of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process. Fenstermaker was also responsible for the Public Outreach Coordination, the Line & Grade Study, and the Hydrology & Hydraulics Study. Ultimately, the EIS will allow USACE to make permitting decisions under the Clean Water Act and the Rivers and Harbors Act.

For Fenstermaker, the schedule was 540 calendar days. We began the project in January 2010 and completed it in the summer of 2011. Besides Tetra Tech, Fenstermaker worked alongside Urban Systems, who handled traffic issues, and Earth Search, who dealt with the cultural implications. Beyond the means to build experience in the EIS process, this project gave Fenstermaker the great opportunity to improve our knowledge of USACE procedures. The entire project is anticipated to reach completion in March 2014.