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

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdmInistration
NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE
NORTHEAST REGION
55 Great Republic Drive
Gloucester. MA 01930-2276
Pamela S. Stephenson
Division Administrator
Federal Highway Administration
Massachusetts District
55 Broadway, lOth Floor
Cambridge, MA 02142
- NOV 2 9 011
Re:
HDA-MA, replacement of the Whittier Bridge across the Merrimack River,
Newburyport and Amesbury, MA
Dear Ms. Stephenson:
NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has reviewed the essential fish habitat
(EFH) assessment, dated November 7, 2011, prepared by the Massachusetts Department of
Transportation (MassDOT) for the replacement of the Whittier Bridge over the Merrimack River
between Newburyport and Amesbury, Massachusetts. A new bridge, with a separate structure
for the north and south travel lanes, is proposed to replace the existing structurally deficient,
functionally obsolete bridge. The new bridge will be wider to accommodate an additional travel
lane in both directions, as well as a pedestrian and bike lane, and is designed with the abutments
located further upland on the river bank, minimizing river encroachment and removal of
vegetation. The replacement activities include the construction of two parallel bridges, each of
which are approximately 1,300 linear feet and are supported by three piers, for a total of six new
piers. New permanent impacts total approximately 17,100 square feet (sf), resulting in a net loss
of approximately 5,600 sfof river bottom habitat, once the existing four piers are removed.
Construction and demolition of the piers are proposed within cofferdams and the temporary
impacts from the placement of cofferdams and temporary piers totals approximately 26,960 sf.
Compensatory mitigation for unavoidable temporary and permanent impacts is not proposed.
The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) and the Fish and
Wildlife Coordination Act (FWCA) require federal agencies to consult with one another on
projects such as this. Insofar as a project involves EFH, as this project does, this process is
guided by the requirements of our EFH regulation at 50 CFR 600.920, which mandates the
preparation of EFH assessments and generally outlines each agency's obligations in this
consultation procedure. We offer the following comments and recommendations on this project
pursuant to the above referenced regulatory process.
General Comments
The Merrimack River is a productive system that supports numerous important living estuarine
and riverine resources such as Atlantic salmon and serves as a migratory corridor for a variety of