About the Study

Study Area

The Study

The study requires a considerable amount of effort and people that work in many different Federal, State and local agencies and disciplines, and the public. The results of this study are the Environmental Impact Statement, Section 404 Permit Application, and the conceptual design of the alternatives studied in detail. For these and other documents, see the Publications page.

An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is being prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Maine’s Sensible Transportation Policy Act (STPA).

The purpose of an EIS is to provide the MaineDOT, the FHWA, other federal and state agencies, and the public with a full accounting of the anticipated environmental impacts of the alternatives developed for meeting the study’s purpose and needs. The EIS serves as the primary document to facilitate review of the proposed action by federal, state, and local agencies and the public.

“The EIS shall provide full and fair discussion of significant environmental impacts and shall inform decision makers and the public of reasonable alternatives that would avoid or minimize adverse impacts or enhance the quality of the human environment.” (40 CFR Part 1502.1). An EIS must briefly discuss the purpose and need for the proposed action, the range of alternatives considered, the predicted impacts from the proposed action, and the agencies and people consulted during the planning of the proposed action.

NEPA and the STPA

NEPA
NEPA is the nation's broadest environmental law and our nation's basic environmental charter. NEPA applies to all federal agencies and most of the activities that they fund or manage that affect the environment. It requires federal agencies to consider the environmental, social, and economic impacts of their actions and disclose them in a public decision-making document.
NEPA requires the preparation of environmental documents to ensure that federal agencies accomplish the purpose and intent of the law. Individual federal agencies and the President's Council of Environmental Quality (CEQ) have adopted regulations, policy, and other guidance to ensure that they follow the law to implement NEPA

STPA
The decisions made in the transportation sector are of critical importance to the people of Maine. The field of transportation is diverse, ranging from pedestrian, to motorized vehicles, to telecommunications. The STPA reflects that diversity in the decision-making that occurs in the planning and development of Maine's transportation network.
STPA provides a framework for examining a range of choices. It recognizes there are benefits and costs (financial, energy, and environmental) to transportation. Mobility is no longer treated as an inexhaustible resource but rather as a resource that needs to be both supplied and conserved. STPA identifies policies and management strategies for the analysis of these diverse issues.

Section 404 of the Clean Water Act Permit
The MaineDOT and the FHWA are preparing a permit application in accordance with Section 404 of the Clean Water Act to be submitted to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Section 404 of the Clean Water Act requires a permit for the discharge of dredged and fill material into Waters of the U.S, including wetlands. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is an active participant in the study. The Section 404(b)(1) guidelines provide guidance to the Corps for issuing permits; compliance with the 404(b)(1) guidelines is required for the issuance of a permit.

The Purpose of the study and why it is needed

Purpose
The purpose of the I-395/Route 9 Transportation Study is to:

1. identify a section of the National Highway System in Maine from I-395 in Brewer to Route 9, to be constructed consistent with the current American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) policy on design;
2. improve regional system linkage;
3. improve safety on Route 46 and Route 1A; and
4. improve the current and future flow of traffic, and the shipment of goods to the interstate system.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have determined that the basic project purpose, in compliance with Section 404 is “to provide for the safe and efficient flow of east-west traffic and shipment of goods from Brewer (I-395) to Eddington (Route 9), Maine for current and projected traffic volumes”.

Needs
The needs (i.e., problems) for the study are:

1. Poor system linkage
2. Safety concerns
3. Traffic congestion

I-395 provides motorists an opportunity to travel from the interstate system to Route 9, without having to travel through downtown Bangor. Roadways commonly used to travel between I-395 and Route 9 are Route 1A and Route 46. Route 46 is a collector roadway meant to serve primarily local traffic, but it is used by regional traffic that would be better served by an arterial roadway. The result is a discontinuity in  the highway system linkage and mobility.

Over time, traffic volumes, particularly heavy trucks, traveling these roadways near I-395 have increased substantially. Because of the increase in overall traffic volumes and the number of heavy trucks traveling the area, the number of vehicle crashes has also increased. There are several high crash locations in the area.

Study Participants

Throughout this study, the MaineDOT and the FHWA will coordinate with a many U.S. federal agencies, state agencies, local agencies, and the public.

Federal Agencies

• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• Federal Emergency Management Agency
• U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service

Tribes

• Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians
• Aroostook Band of Micmac Indians
• Passamaquoddy Tribe
• Penobscot Nation of Maine

State Agencies

• Department of Conservation
• Department of Environmental Protection
• Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
• Maine Historic and Preservation Commission
• State Planning Office

Local Agencies

• City of Bangor
• City of Brewer           
• Town of Clifton
• Town of Eddington
• Town of Holden
• Bangor Area Comprehensive Transportation System (BACTS)

Public Advisory Committee
A Public Advisory Committee or PAC has been established to participate in this study. A PAC is a diverse group comprised of local and regional officials, business owners, and citizens that volunteer their time to stay involved in the study through regular meetings with the MaineDOT and FHWA. MaineDOT uses a PAC as one way of learning about local issues and features and communicating with the public.

Background information
Since the mid-1930s Maine, Northern New England, and eastern Canada have discussed methods to improve east-west roadway travel in the region. In 1987, in response to increased transportation needs in this corridor, the 113th Maine Legislature enacted a law entitled: An Act to Authorize the Construction of an East-West Highway.

In response to the legislative directive, the MaineDOT developed a work plan with improvement recommendations titled “East-West Highway Improvement Needs, Routes 9 and 2, in 1988”. The work plan recommendations commenced at the Routes 1 and 9 intersection in Baileyville and traversed Routes 2 and 9 to Gilead at the New Hampshire/Maine border. The report reviewed the traffic conditions and characteristics to develop and prioritize overall needs for roadway reconstruction, bridge improvements, resurfacing and roadway relocations. In response to the report directives, MaineDOT initiated a program to reconstruct and rehabilitate Route 9 from Clifton to Baileyville. The last project rehabilitating this section of Route 9 was completed in 2003.

A second directive from the “East-West Highway Improvements Needs” report was the analysis of a direct connection of Route 9, the gateway to Down East Maine, with the Interstate roadway network near the end of I-395 in Brewer. Construction of a new location alternative would significantly improve travel service and safety for those currently traveling Routes 1A, 9 and 46.

In 1997, the 118th Maine Legislature required the MaineDOT and the Maine State Planning Office (SPO) to conduct a study of the costs, benefits, and social and environmental impacts relative to the development of an east-west roadway linking the east with the Canadian Maritime Provinces and the west, trade markets of Quebec, Ontario, and the Midwestern United States. On October 6, 1999, in a speech entitled “Seven Steps to Implementing Better East-West Transportation in Maine” Governor Angus King announced the results of “A Technical Report on An East-West Highway in Maine”. The analysis outlined a four-part strategy for improving Maine’s east-west link; Part 2 of the Strategy identified the need to construct a new limited-access roadway connecting I-395 in Brewer to Route 9 in the Eddington area. Then Governor King stated the need to begin the required environmental assessment and preliminary engineering process to implement this recommendation. As directed in 2000, the MaineDOT initiated the I-395/Route 9 EA process.

On October 11, 2005, the I-395/Route 9 Transportation Study EA was elevated to an EIS. In response to the need to prepare an EIS on December 1, 2005, the Federal Register Environmental Documents published the Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare the EIS.