The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro), in cooperation with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) as the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)/National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) lead agency, is initiating the preparation of an Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Assessment (EIR/EA) for the I-10 ExpressLanes Extension in Los Angeles County, California.
Project Overview
The project proposes to improve traffic conditions on I-10 starting in the west at approximately I-605 and terminating in the east at the Los Angeles/San Bernardino County line and intends to reduce travel times, encourage carpooling and transit, improve trip reliability, reduce degradation of the carpool and general-purpose lanes, increase person throughput, and apply technological strategies to help manage traffic. The study area includes the Cities of El Monte, Industry, Baldwin Park, Covina, West Covina, San Dimas, Walnut, Pomona, Claremont, Montclair as well as unincorporated Los Angeles County. Caltrans is the lead agency under CEQA and NEPA. The EIR/EA, a study required by federal and state statutes, will be prepared and is an assessment of the potential impacts that future improvements may have on the environment and communities within and adjacent to the study area. It includes analyses ranging from community to noise, air quality impacts, and ways to reduce or avoid possible adverse environmental impacts.
Alternatives Under Study
The alternatives to be studied include, but are not limited to, 1) no build; 2) converting the existing high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane to a High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lane, also known as an ExpressLane, 3) adding an additional ExpressLane/HOT lane in each direction and converting the existing HOV lane to an ExpressLane, or 4) maintain the existing HOV lane and add a second HOV lane in each direction.Where You Come In
The project team is initiating environmental and engineering studies for this project. Virtual public scoping meetings will be held to inform you about the project and to allow you to provide comments or concerns. Your comments will become part of the public record and will be considered in developing the environmental document and defining the project scope. A purpose and need statement for the project, preliminary alternative concepts, an overview of the environmental process, schedule, and other information will be available for viewing. The Notice of Preparation and other project materials are available for public review on the project website. The project team will be initiating the scoping period for public comment between April 25, 2022, and June 10, 2022, in conformance with CEQA and NEPA. Comments may be submitted during the public scoping period via mail, email, the project website comment form, or the project hotline. Public scoping meetings will be held virtually on:- Wednesday, May 4th, from 12 pm to 2 pm
- Thursday, May 5th, from 6 pm to 8 pm
- Saturday, May 7th, from 10 am to 12 pm