Environmental Information

The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 USC 4321-4335) was enacted to promote a national policy for protection of the environment and to raise awareness of the importance of natural resources to the nation. NEPA requires federal agencies, in cooperation with state and local governments, to address the environmental impacts of a proposed federal action or an action that receives federal funds, such as the US 6/Wadsworth project. NEPA requires preparation of an environmental document addressing the impacts associated with a project and to avoid, minimize, or mitigate those impacts. CDOT must comply with NEPA and the environmental procedures established by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).

Therefore, CDOT, in cooperation with FHWA and other stakeholders, prepared the US 6/Wadsworth Environmental Assessment (EA) and Section 4(f) Evaluation to identify and assess potential transportation improvements at the interchange of US 6 and Wadsworth and along Wadsworth from West 4th to 14th avenues.

CDOT considered several alternatives for improvements. Two of these alternatives were selected for detailed evaluation: a Build Alternative and a No Build Alternative. The Build Alternative would reconstruct the interchange as a tight diamond with a loop in the northwest quadrant and widen Wadsworth to add a travel lane in each direction, shared-use paths, and a raised median. The No Build Alternative would not include any major reconstruction of the roadways, intersections, or sidewalks.

In June 2009, the EA was completed and released for review and comment. The following environmental issues or resources were evaluated in detail in the EA: transportation, pedestrian and bicycle facilities, noise, right-of-way (ROW) and relocations, socioeconomics, environmental justice, land use, historic properties, hazardous substances, floodplains, water resources, and wetlands.

FHWA and CDOT considered the EA analysis as well as public and agency comments and prepared a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI). The FONSI includes a number of mitigation measures that CDOT and FHWA have committed to include in the implementation of the Build Alternative to minimize environmental and social impacts. The Build Alternative is what has been constructed in Phase 1-3 and 5 and will be constructed in Phase 4.

Due to the length of time between publishing the EA and the subsequent construction, CDOT performed a NEPA re-evaluation for certain environmental resources to confirm compliance with current regulations, including the state GHG requirements.