Route 15 Corridor Plan

Draft Environmental Assessment for the Burlington-Essex Rail Project
Burlington, Winooski, Colchester, Essex and the Village of Essex Junction, Vermont

Study Background Information

The concept of the Burlington to Essex Rail project began in the mid-nineteen-nineties when the communities along the corridor requested that the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) consider the expansion of the then-proposed Charlotte to Burlington rail service to Essex Junction. The Chittenden County Metropolitan Planning Organization (CCMPO) entered into an agreement with VTrans to facilitate the process and initially performed the Burlington/Essex Passenger Rail Feasibility Study in 1999, which determined that it was feasible to upgrade the eight-mile New England Central Railroad ”Winooski” Branch freight line for passenger service. In accordance with federal transportation guidelines, the CCMPO subsequently conducted a comprehensive alternatives analysis of the Route 15 corridor, which parallels the rail line.

The Burlington-Essex Corridor Alternative Analysis Phase 1A Report recommended a multi-modal solution that included commuter rail, feeder bus service, and intersection improvements on Route 15 that was accepted by the CCMPO Board on September 26, 2001. The CCMPO Board formally approved the addition of the Route 15 Corridor Improvement Plan to the Chittenden County Long-Range Transportation Plan on March 20, 2002. The corridor plan serves as an “umbrella” for a number of proposed improvements within the Route 15 corridor and includes the Burlington-Essex Rail Project, along with highway and bike path improvements among others. The region is in the process of scoping ”complimentary improvements” as part of the multi-modal recommendation for the Route 15 Corridor. These scoping projects: signal optimization, intersection improvements bike/pedestrian paths to the to the stations, and transit-oriented development planning are not subject to this Environmental Assessment. However, it is anticipated that these projects will proceed on parallel tracks to be constructed within a similar time frame. Separate planning and environmental efforts will be undertaken shortly for these other projects.

Draft Environmental Assessment

The Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) provides an evaluation of the potential environmental impacts associated with the Burlington-Essex Rail Project. This document is prepared in conformance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations, as required when federal funding is utilized. Government agencies and individuals with background information and knowledge of potential impacts of the proposed project were consulted in the preparation of this EA. The documentation contained within the Draft EA has been prepared to enable the lead federal agency, in this case the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), the ability to make a finding of impact and to identify any measures that would be necessary to mitigate potential negative impacts of the project. The FTA will review public comments received during the 30-day public comment period in its consideration of impact. If no significant impacts are anticipated, the FTA can issue a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI), thus clearing the project under NEPA to move forward. If any mitigation is required to alleviate impacts associated with the proposed project, these measures will be included as part of the FONSI.

 

The EA Executive Summary and full report are available for download below as Adobe Acrobat PDF files.

Draft Environmental Assessment
Burlington-Essex Rail Environmental Assessment Executive Summary
Draft Burlington-Essex Rail Environmental Assessment