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<br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />SEml.THREE Affected Environments and Environmental Consequences <br /> <br />would be returned to production during years that Pawnee Creek does not flood. Therefore, only <br />4 acres of prime farmland would be permanently lost with Alternative 3. <br /> <br />Because 32 acres of prime farmland would be disturbed, a Farmland Conversion Impact Rating <br />Form AD-I 006 was completed. The proposed action was determined to have a value of 152. <br />Since the alternative received a total score ofless than 160, guidance in 7 CFR 658.4 indicates <br />that no further consideration or consultation with the NRCS would be required. <br /> <br />3.3 TRAFFIC AND CIRCULATION <br /> <br />Both Highway 6 and the UPRR track cross the project area. County roads located within the <br />project area include CR 22, CR 22.5, CR 24, CR 35, and CR 39. <br /> <br />3,3,1 Alternative 1 . No Action <br /> <br />This alternative would not change existing traffic and circulation within the project area, <br />including county roads, Highway 6, and the UPRR tracks. Under existing conditions, major <br />flooding causes Highway 6 and several county roads to be closed until the flood flows have <br />subsided. Flooding ofthese roads frequently results in damage to roads and bridges, which <br />results in closure and/or restrictive use until the necessary repairs are completed. Rail <br />transportation is also affected during major flooding events (i.e., when the embankment of the <br />UPRR track was washed out during the 1997 flood event). Both road and rail closures could <br />continue to occur during major flood events with the No Action Alternative. <br /> <br />3,3.2 Alternative 2 . Sterling Flood Control Interceptor Channel (Proposed Action) <br /> <br />Vehicular and rail traffic would be affected by this alternative. Temporary rerouting of vehicular <br />traffic would be required during construction of the new 4-lane bridge on Highway 6. This <br />rerouting would consist mostly of closing one set of lanes and routing traffic to the opposite lane, <br />which would be a single lane each direction in the construction area. Construction of the <br />Highway 6 bridge would last approximately 180 days. <br /> <br />In addition, a temporary rail line (shoofly track) would be implemented during the construction <br />of the new railroad bridge over the channel. The temporary track would be approximately 2,200 <br />feet long and designed for the current timetable speed of 50 miles per hour (mph) in accordance <br />with the latest version of the UPRR Guidelines for Design and Construction of Shoofly Tracks. <br />The bridge would be a four-span, ballast-deck structure, approximately 144 feet long. Four sets <br />of plans for the proposed railroad bridge and shoofly track have been presented to UPRR for <br />their review and comment. Construction of the railroad bridge would last approximately 45 to <br />60 days. <br /> <br />With this alternative, CR 39 would be closed immediately north of the constructed channel. <br />Presently, CR 39 south of the closure provides access to two farmsteads and several agricultural <br />fields. In order to restore access to these farmsteads and fields, CR 22, which presently ends <br />approximately 0.2 mile east of U.S. Highway 6, will be extended north and east to connect with <br />CR 39 south of the constructed channel. This new access would increase travel distance from <br /> <br />3-6 <br />