West Waukesha Bypass County TT I-94 to WIS 59 Record of ...

1 west Waukesha Bypass County TT I-94 to WIS 59 Record of Decision Project 2788-01-00 January 2015 Contents Decision .. 1 Alternatives Considered .. 2 No-Build Alternative .. 2 Non-Highway Improvement Alternatives .. 2 Build Alternatives .. 3 Environmentally Preferred Alternative .. 9 Section 4(f) 11 Retzer Nature Center .. 13 Kisdon Hill Park .. 13 Sebina Barney House .. 13 Mitigation and Measures to Minimize Harm .. 13 Residential and Commercial Displacements .. 13 Farmland .. 14 Socioeconomic Characteristics .. 14 Surface Water and Groundwater Resources .. 14 Floodplains .. 15 Wetlands .. 16 Upland Habitat .. 16 Wildlife .. 17 Threatened and Endangered 17 18 Hazardous Materials .. 18 Historic Properties and Archaeological Sites .. 18 Monitoring or Enforcement Program.

2 18 Transportation Air Quality Conformity Determination .. 19 Corrections .. 20 Comments on Final Environmental Impact Statement .. 20 Conclusion .. 24 Appendixes A Response to Public Comments on Final EIS B Agency Comments on the Final EIS III Record of Decision Decision The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) have identified the Selected Alternative for addressing safety concerns, design deficiencies, and growing travel demand within the County TT corridor between the WIS 59/ County X intersection (south limit) and I-94 (north limit) on the west side of the City of Waukesha . The improvements include reconstructing County TT, known locally as Meadowbrook Road north of US 18 and Merrill Hills Road south of US 18, from a 2-lane undivided roadway to a 4-lane divided roadway.

3 The improvements would generally follow County TT between I-94 and Madison Street. Between Madison Street and the WIS 59/ County X intersection, the improvements would be located on new alignment (Exhibit 1 of Final EIS, on the following page). To the extent practicable, the proposed County TT improvements avoid and minimize impacts to the natural, cultural and built environment. The Selected Alternative identified in this Record of Decision (ROD) is the same as the Preferred Alternative identified in the Final Environmental Impact Statement (Final EIS, located at ). The Selected Alternative is summarized below. See Section 2 of the Final EIS for detailed information and Appendix E for a series of aerial photos showing the Selected Alternative. Between Rolling Ridge Drive and Madison Street, expand the 2-lane roadway to a 4-lane divided roadway along the existing alignment.

4 Evaluate roundabouts and signals during the design of the Rolling Ridge Drive, Northview Road, Summit Avenue (US 18), and Madison Street intersections. Between Madison Street and the Wisconsin & Southern Railroad, construct a 4-lane divided roadway on new alignment, including a new bridge over Pebble Creek. Construct an at-grade crossing of the Wisconsin & Southern Railroad, and place the Glacial Drumlin State Trail in a box culvert beneath the 4-lane divided roadway. Construct a 4-lane divided roadway between the railroad and the WIS 59/ County X intersection on new alignment along the Pebble Creek west alternative. Construct a new segment of Green Lane to intersect the Pebble Creek west alignment, and construct a new intersection (signalized or roundabout) at the Pebble Creek west /Sunset Drive intersection.

5 Construct a 250- to 400-foot-long land bridge beginning at the end of the Hawthorne Hollow Drive cul-de-sac to avoid part of the Pebble Creek wetland complex. Extend the multi-use trail ending at Summit Avenue to Sunset Drive, including a connection to the Glacial Drumlin State Trail. Extend the sidewalk on the west side of County TT that ends at Northview Road to Kame Terrace. Convert Merrill Hills Road between Madison Street and Sunset Drive to a frontage road by removing some sections of the road and placing cul-de-sacs in other locations. Complete the 4-lane divided segment of County X, including a new Pebble Creek bridge, from about Ridge Road to the WIS 59/ County X intersection. Reconstruct the WIS 59/ County X intersection and realign Saylesville Road s connection to WIS 59.

6 1 Record OF DECISION: Waukesha Bypass Alternatives Considered Section 2 of the Final EIS provides detailed information on the No-Build alternative and the broad range of build alternatives considered and evaluated in terms of their ability to address the project s purpose and need. The No-Build Alternative, Non-h ighway Improvement Alternatives, Build Alternatives, and the Environmentally Preferred Alternative are summarized below. No-Build Alternative The No-Build Alternative served as a baseline for comparison to the Build Alternatives in the Draft EIS and Final EIS. It would not provide any safety or capacity improvements. Only routine maintenance would be performed. Because the No-Build Alternative would not address safety concerns, design deficiencies, and growing travel demand, it was eliminated from further consideration.

7 In its comments on the Draft EIS, the Town of Waukesha supported the No-Build Alternative. Non-H ighway Improvement Alternatives Transportation Demand Management Alternative The Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Alternative strives to reduce the number of automobile trips through increased transit ridership and other strategies. The public transit system element of A Regional Transportation System Plan for Southeastern Wisconsin: 2035 recommends several ways to increase bus service in Waukesha County (Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission [SEWRPC] 2006b). Options include the following: Rapid transit bus system operating on freeways to provide commuting service Express bus system operating at higher speed with limited-stop arterials Local bus system operating on arterial and collector streets with frequent stops Waukesha Metro, Coach USA, and Badger Bus provide transit service in Waukesha , but none provides bus service on County TT or any roads that cross County TT in the project area.

8 ( Waukesha Metro Route 5 serves the segment of Sunset Drive between Badger Drive and County X in the project area, and Route 6 serves Waukesha west High School from County X.) WisDOT has also implemented a RIDESHARE program that offers phone and Internet services to match carpoolers based on route and personal preferences. Other TDM measures include telecommuting and flexible work schedules. The TDM Alternative alone would not fully address project purpose and need with respect to safety concerns, existing highway deficiencies, and future traffic demand. Therefore, the TDM Alternative is not considered a reasonable course of action and was eliminated from consideration as a stand-alone alternative. Transportation System Management Alternative The Transportation System Management (TSM) Alternative includes measures to maximize the efficiency and use of the existing road network to alleviate or postpone the need to expand capacity.

9 The TSM element of SEWRPC transportation plan recommends measures such as these: Coordinate traffic signal plans. Improve arterial and highway intersections. Impose curb lane parking restrictions during peak hours. Manage access. Inform motorists of arterial travel conditions. Give preference to high-occupancy vehicles on arterials. Promote carpooling. 2 Record OF DECISION: Waukesha Bypass Expand transit pricing programs, programs aggressively promoting transit use, bicycling, ridesharing, pedestrian travel, telecommuting, and work-time rescheduling (including compressed work weeks) to reduce single-person vehicle travel. Expand and enhance transit information and marketing. Prepare detailed, site-specific neighborhood and major activity center plans to facilitate transit, bicycle, and pedestrian movement, and to reduce dependence on automobile travel.

10 The TSM Alternative alone would not fully address project purpose and need with respect to safety, existing deficiencies, and future traffic demand. Therefore, the TSM Alternative is not considered a reasonable course of action and has been eliminated from consideration as a stand-alone alternative. However, TSM measures such as traffic signals and turn lanes likely would be implemented in conjunction with a Build Alternative. Build Alternatives Table 1 summarizes the alternatives that were considered and evaluated for addressing the safety, geometric, and capacity issues in the Waukesha Bypass study area. More detail and exhibits are provided in Section 2 of the Final EIS; see Exhibit 2-1 from the Final EIS on the following page for initial range of build alternatives summarized in Table 1.