U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta has announced six additional transportation construction projects that will receive accelerated environmental review under President Bush’s executive order on environmental streamlining. The projects were selected from among 70 candidates nominated by governors and local officials.
"President Bush asked that we facilitate the environmental review process for transportation investments so that they could be completed more quickly, at less cost and without damaging the environment," said Secretary Mineta.
The selected projects will be required to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act and all other environmental statutes.
The projects added to the priority list this time include five surface transportation and one airport construction project:
• Lower Manhattan recovery effort in New York, a series of projects to rebuild the transit system in the wake of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001;
• I-66 between Kentucky Route 80 and I-75 in Kentucky;
• Intercounty Connector connecting I-270 with I-95 in Maryland;
• U.S. 93 corridor in Montana;
• I-80 upgrade between Lincoln and Omaha, Neb.; and
• Los Angeles World Airport master plan and environmental impact statement.
The second group brings the total number of selected priority projects to 13. The DOT said it will continue to build on this priority list by reviewing nominations received by the Transportation Infrastructure Streamlining Task Force and announcing selected projects.
