After the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was published in April 2012 there was extensive additional discussion on which alternative was preferred for the area. This discussion is important to the project’s success and for the community as a whole. The Oversight Team recommended a preferred alternative in February 2014. Technical analysis of the preferred alternative for the Final EIS began in Summer 2016. The Final EIS is currently being prepared; the estimated date for publication is to be determined. Once the Record of Decision (ROD) is approved by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the project would be able to seek funding and move forward for design, right-of-way acquisition, and construction.
A description of the preferred alternative is provided here. The preferred alternative described in the Final EIS is at a conceptual level of engineering design. The preferred alternative would require additional engineering design prior to the initiation of any construction. The construction of the preferred alternative could potentially be done in phases.
The “Salem Alternative” was developed by the Salem City Council after considering public comments during several public hearings. It is very similar to the “Alternative 4” alignments from the Draft EIS; however, it is aimed at reducing the number of bridge piers in the river, the impacts to the east Salem neighborhoods, and the amount of elevated structures (viaduct, ramps, etc.). The Oversight Team recommended a preferred alternative, previously called the Salem Alternative, in February 2014 which is being assessed in greater detail in the Final EIS.
The “Salem Alternative” was developed by the Salem City Council after hearing concerns from city residents about potential impacts caused by Alternative 4D. The initial “Salem Alternative” took much of the design from Alternative 4D, but minimized the impacts by reducing the size and extent of the local road changes, reducing the number of lanes on the bridge from three to two in each direction, and minimizing elevated structures (ramps and viaduct). The project team refined the alternative so that it could function from a traffic engineering perspective and achieve the purpose and need of the project, while respecting the policy input provided by the Salem City Council. Based on this analysis, a detailed description and map were developed. The Oversight Team recommended this as the preferred alternative in February 2014.
The initial analysis of the preferred alternative revealed that there will be fewer impacts to neighborhoods, businesses, and the natural environment. There will be fewer lanes for vehicles to travel on, both on the bridge and on local streets. This will mean fewer physical impacts but also more congestion in most places during the “rush hours.” The Final EIS will include more details about this alternative.
