Interstate Bridge Replacement Program to Publish Draft SEIS Sept. 20
The Interstate Bridge Replacement program will publish its Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) next Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. Its release will mark the beginning of the official 60-day public comment period, which will run through Nov. 18, 2024. For more information, please visit IBR Draft SEIS.
The IBR program will conduct extensive notification and outreach to get the word out to the community when the document is available, and public comment officially opens on Sept. 20. During the public comment period, the public is encouraged to review the document and provide feedback on the benefits and impacts of program investments, including the proposed design options and technical analysis.
The comment period will include a variety of in-person and virtual opportunities for the public to receive information on the Draft SEIS document and how to provide public comment. These events include open houses currently planned in Vancouver (Oct. 15 at Clark College) and Portland (Oct. 17 at Portland Expo Center), as well as virtual public hearings to provide official comment and virtual briefings to learn more about the findings of the document. The IBR website Meetings & Events page will continue to be updated with engagement opportunities as the release date approaches.
The Draft SEIS studies the program’s potential benefits and impacts on transportation, the environment and the local community. The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires the program to complete this process to evaluate how proposed transportation infrastructure investments might impact areas like air and water quality, parks, historic sites, ecosystems, greenhouse gas emissions, noise, travel times, congestion, economics, land use, property acquisitions, and neighborhoods within the study area. It also analyzes the program’s impact on social issues, such as environmental justice, equity and climate change.
All comments during the 60-day period will be recorded and responded to in the Final SEIS in late 2025. Public input will help inform technical analysis, design options and refine the preferred alternative that will move into the Final SEIS, including the program footprint and mitigations. Following publication of the Final SEIS, an Amended Record of Decision will provide federal authorization for the IBR program to begin construction, anticipated as early as late 2025.
