Final Environmental Impact Report - Whittier Bridge/I-95 ...

Whittier Bridge/I-95 Improvement Project FEIR
Chapter 2.0: Response to Comments on the Environmental Assessment/Draft Environmental Impact Report
Please see the enclosed picture of a spiral pedestrian/bicycle ramp on 1-394 in Minnesota. This ramp connects a
lower level pathway to an elevated Shared-Use Path along an interstate highway. This is the same situation as the
proposed connection to Main Street/Evans Place. We request that you require MassDOT to install a spiral pedestrian
ramp or an alternative acceptable pedestrian access solution at this location.
Response: Located at 520 Main Street in Amesbury, adjacent to I-95, the visitor center building is
the former Smith‘s Chain Bridge Filling Station No. 3. This location has been determined by the
State Historic Preservation Officer to be eligible for individual listing in the National Register of
Historic Places. As such, any construction on its lot or modifications of the building would trigger
review under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and would require modification of
the project‘s Section 106 Memorandum of Agreement. If determined to be an adverse impact under
Section 106, Section 4(f) would be triggered. Additionally, the limited space available at the 520
Main Street location and the difference in elevation between the visitor center parcel and the
Shared-Use Path (approximately 40 feet) would make a connection infeasible, require a large ramp
structure with grades in excess of handicapped accessibility requirements, and result in additional
wetland impacts to Wetland I, located behind the visitor center building. Additional wetland impacts
in excess of 40 square feet at Wetland I would result in the need for wetlands Variance for the
project, the timeline for which would push the project outside of the Accelerated Bridge Program
funding schedule.
Salisbury-1A: However, the currently proposed design of the Shared-Use Path falls short in two important respects:
(1) it fails to provide a direct connection from the Shared-Use Path to Main Street/Evans Place in Amesbury and the
Amesbury Visitors Center; and
(2) it fails to provide a safe off-road connection between Salisbury and Amesbury that would facilitate connecting
Salisbury’s Ghost Trail and Amesbury’s Riverwalk, which are part of the Coastal Trails Network, a rapidly developing
30-mile alternative transportation network in the Lower Merrimack Valley.
Response: See the response to comment Salisbury-1 above regarding access to Main Street/Evans
Place. MassDOT has determined that the requested acquisition of the former railroad ROW under I-
95 to enable a future connection between the Powow River trail (which provides access to the
Amesbury Riverwalk) in Amesbury and the Ghost Trail in Salisbury is beyond the scope of the
Whittier Bridge project. The proposed widening and reconstruction of the I-95 bridges over the
railroad ROW will not impede future development of a connection between Powow River and Ghost
trails. The connection of the Powow River and Ghost Trails is an independent project that can be
subsequently pursued by the municipalities through a regular project development process. It would
not be precluded by this project.
Salisbury-1B: These failures are in conflict with the USDOT Policy Statement on Bicycle and Pedestrian
Accommodations Regulations and Recommendations that requires MassDOT to provide “safe, convenient and
interconnected transportation networks.”
Response: The US DOT Policy Statement is as follows: ―The DOT policy is to incorporate safe and
convenient walking and bicycle facilities into transportation projects.‖ This has been accomplished
with the addition of the Shared-Use Path.
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