Source: Arizona Department of Transportation
The Interstate 11 study team has been busy since the public hearings and the public comment period held earlier this year. The team continues to process more than 12,000 submissions received on the Draft Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement and the Recommended Corridor Alternative. Each submission is logged, evaluated by the project team, and sorted according to the topics covered in the comments and questions.
Ultimately, the Federal Highway Administration and the Arizona Department of Transportation will respond to public and agency comments on the Draft Tier 1 EIS when the Final Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement is published. The Final Tier 1 EIS will present a Preferred Corridor Alternative and the No-Build Option. Finally, the Record of Decision from ADOT and the Federal Highway Administration will present either a Selected Corridor Alternative or the No-Build Option.
If a Build Corridor is selected at the end of the Tier 1 process, then Tier 2 studies must take place as part of the National Environmental Policy Act process. These studies, which are not funded, would likely occur on priority segments along the 280-mile corridor between Nogales and Wickenburg.
Although the official Draft Tier 1 EIS comment period closed in July, comments on the study are still encouraged and can be submitted at any time via email at I-11ADOTStudy@hdrinc.com, via the bilingual project information line at 1.844.544.8049, or by U.S. mail to this address: I-11 Tier 1 EIS Study Team c/o ADOT Communications, 1655 W. Jackson Street, Mail Drop 126F, Phoenix, AZ 85007.
The Draft Tier 1 EIS, along with all study and public outreach materials, is published on the I-11 website at http://origin.i11study.com/Arizona/.