I-10 Bypass: Banning to Cabazon Project

WHAT IS BEING PLANNED?

County of Riverside, in cooperation with the City of Banning and the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), proposes to construct a new two-lane roadway extending approximately 3.3 miles from the intersection of Hathaway Street and Westward Avenue in the City of Banning, east to the intersection of Bonita Avenue and Apache Trail in the community of Cabazon. The proposed project includes bridges over Smith Creek and the San Gorgonio River, paving of two lanes, a median, paved shoulders, drainages, a shared use path and sidewalks. The proposed project would serve to accommodate local trips on a local roadway and provide an alternate route between Banning and Cabazon in the event of a closure on I-10.Two alternative alignments for the new roadway are under consideration along with a No Action/No Project alternative.

Pursuant to Section 15072(f)(5) of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines, it has been determined that the project site is not present on any of the lists enumerated under Section 65962.5 of the Government Code including, but not limited to lists of hazardous waste facilities, land designated as hazardous waste property, and hazardous waste disposal sites, and the information in the Hazardous Waste and Substances Statement required under subdivision (f) of that section.

WHY THIS PUBLIC NOTICE?

The County of Riverside and Caltrans have studied the proposed project and prepared the Recirculated Draft Environmental Impact Report/ Environmental Assessment (DEIR/DEA), which considers the environmental impacts of the two alternative alignments and the No Action/No Project alternative. Environmental effects anticipated include noise, traffic, land use, visual and cumulative impacts. The DEIR/DEA was previously circulated for public review from December 29, 2017 to April 30, 2018. This Recirculated DEIR/DEA is being recirculated for public review in accordance with Section 15088.5(a) of the CEQA Guidelines in order to include the identification of a Locally Preferred Alternative. This notice is to advise you that the Recirculated DEIR/DEA is available for you to read.

WHAT’S AVAILABLE?

The Recirculated DEIR/DEA will be available for 45 days from August 12, 2019 until September 25, 2019. The document will be available for review at the following locations, at the website www.rcprojects.org/i10bypass/, or by contacting the Riverside County Transportation Department (contact information below).

• County of Riverside Transportation Department, 3525 14th Street, Riverside, CA 92501. Monday – Friday, 8:00am to 5:00pm.
• Caltrans District Office, 464 West 4th Street, San Bernardino, CA 92401. Monday – Friday, 8:00am to 5:00pm.
• Banning Library, 21 West Nicolet St, Banning, CA 92220. During normal library hours.
• Cabazon Library, 50425 Carmen Ave, Cabazon, CA 92230. During normal library hours.
• Cabazon Library, 50425 Carmen Ave, Cabazon, CA 92230. During normal library hours.

WHERE YOU COME IN

Would you like to make comments on the project, the alternative alignments or the Recirculated DEIR/DEA? Please submit your comments in writing no later than September 25, 2019 to Mary Zambon, Environmental Project Manager, Riverside County Transportation Department, 3525 14th St., Riverside CA 92501. Comments received during the public review period for the Recirculated DEIR/DEA will be included in the Final Environmental Impact Report/Final Environmental Assessment (FEIR/FEA) and will be considered in selection of the Preferred Alternative. Comments previously provided on the DEIR/EA (circulated in December 2017) have been reviewed and will be included in the administrative record for the Project, and will not be responded to individually in the FEIR/FEA. Options for submitting comments that will be responded to in the FEIR/FEA include:

• Resubmit your previous comments from the December 2017 circulation of the Draft EIR/EA.
• Submit new comments on the Recirculated Draft EIR/EA.

The FEIR/FEA will identify the Preferred Alternative. After selection of the Preferred Alternative, the County will request approval of the EIR by the County Board of Supervisors for CEQA compliance, and Caltrans will decide whether to issue a Finding of No Significant Impact or require an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act. Notice of said decision will be provided to any person requesting notification. No decision will be made until after the review period is complete and the FEIR/FEA is prepared.

CONTACT

For more information about this project or to receive a copy of the Recirculated DEIR/DEA, please contact Mary Zambon, Riverside County Transportation Department, at (951) 955-6759 or MZAMBON@rivco.org. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, requests for accommodations (documents in alternate formats, American Sign Language interpreter, etc) can be made by contacting the individual noted above.