METRO Solutions

Notice of Availability
Intermodal Terminal Finding of No Significant Impact and Final Environmental Assessment

The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas (METRO), on behalf of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), has prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) for the proposed construction of an Intermodal Terminal. The EA was prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act and FTA guidelines to document the benefits and impacts of the proposed action.

The proposed project involves construction of an Intermodal Terminal (IT) to serve as a transportation hub for Houston, enabling residents, visitors and workers to easily transfer between different modes of transit - buses, light-rail transit (LRT), and guided rapid transit (GRT). The facility may also serve other modes in the future, including commuter rail, airport shuttles, taxis and national passenger rail.

The proposed project will be located adjacent to the Near Northside neighborhood of Houston. It is centered at the junction of the Union Pacific Railroad ((UPRR)) and Main Street, approximately 1,600 feet north of IH 10. The general project area is bounded by the UPRR, Keene Street, Harrington Street and Burnett Street on the north; Hardy Road on the east; IH 10/US 90 on the south; and White Oak Bayou on the west.

The proposed facility will be constructed adjacent to METRO Solutions' proposed North Corridor Line, which includes two elements: the extension of LRT from the University Station to a proposed station off of Burnett Street and the implementation of GRT serving destinations north of the station. The proximately of the proposed IT at this location provides potential future interface with these and other modes of transportation.

The EA analysis determined that there will be no significant adverse impacts to land use and economics, parkland, threatened and endangered species, air quality, or traffic and transportation. METRO made the Draft EA for the Intermodal Terminal available for a 30-day public review and comment period that ended October 20, 2006. No public comments were received regarding the proposed project during that time. After reviewing the EA and supporting documents, as well as agency comments received during the study, FTA finds under 23 CFR 771.121 that the proposed project will have no significant impact on the environment. The record provides sufficient evidence and analysis for determining that an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is not required.

The Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) and the final EA are available for public review at METRO's offices, 1900 Main Street, Houston TX 77002 and at the following local libraries. Central Library (Julia Ideson Building), 500 McKinney, Houston, TX 77220; Carnegie Library, 1050 Quitman, TX 77009; Moody Library, 9525 Irvington, Houston, TX 77076; Heights Branch Library, 1302 Heights Boulevard, Houston, TX 77008; Flores Branch Library, 110 North Milby, Houston, TX 77003; Fifth Ward Branch Library, 4014 Market, Houston, TX 77020; University of Houston-Downtown, W.I. Dykes Library, 5th Floor, One Main Street, Houston, TX 77030-2809; Jesse H. Jones Library, 1133 John Freeman Blvd., Houston, TX 77002: and Houston-Galveston Area Council, 3555 Timmons Lane, Suite 500, Houston, TX 77027. The EA is also posted on METRO's Web site.