PUBLIC NOTICE
SH-22 BRIDGE REPLACEMENT
SECTION 4(f) DE MINIMIS IMPACTS TO
TISHOMINGO NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE & LAKE TEXOMA
The Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) in coordination with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is proposing to replace a bridge over an unnamed creek on State Highway 22 (SH-22) located 4.6 miles east and south of junction SH-99 in Johnston County on federal lands administered by the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and managed by the US Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) as the Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge (Refuge). The proposed project consists of replacing the existing narrow and at-risk of becoming structurally deficient bridge with a proposed 108-foot-long reinforced concrete box (RCB) bridge, which will have two 12-foot-wide driving lanes and 8-foot-wide shoulders. The existing bridge will remain open to traffic during construction.
Approximately 0.67 acres of additional right-of-way from within the Refuge will be required in order to reconstruct this bridge, which equates to less than 0.005 percent of the total Refuge area. Due to the proposed conversion of recreational property to transportation land use within the Refuge and lake boundary, Section 4(f) regulations of the United States Department of Transportation Act of 1966 apply to the project. Section 4(f) affords protection to publicly-owned recreational areas including city, state, and national parks, wildlife refuges and management areas, and historic sites.
ODOT coordinated with the USACE and the USFWS to avoid and minimize the potential impacts of this project on the recreational features of the Refuge and the lake, and the USACE and USFWS are supportive of these measures. The cooperatively-determined avoidance, minimization, and compensatory mitigation agreement includes the following ODOT actions:
- Design the RCB bridge to minimize the amount of permanent right-of-way conversion from within the Refuge and lake boundary;
- Keep SH-22 open during construction by using a shoo-fly detour in order to maintain access to other Lake Texoma recreational areas in the general vicinity;
- Utilize a north offset shoo-fly alignment to minimize the amount of temporary and permanent right-of-way conversion from the Refuge;
- Implement the appropriate best management practices during construction, which include storm water, erosion, and dust controls, along with proper chemical and fuel handling;
- Fence the right-of-way boundary after construction to help prevent illicit entry to the Refuge; and
- Provide supplies, materials, labor and/or services necessary to construct and install a gravel 60-foot by 40-foot parking area, and a 12-foot by 130-foot entrance road along the Sycamore Trail located on USACE land within the Refuge.
Based on these avoidance, minimization, and mitigation measures, ODOT, in coordination with FHWA, is proposing a de minimis impact finding with regard to Section 4(f) of the United States Department of Transportation Act (1966). ODOT welcomes your comments on the potential impacts to the features and attributes of the Tishomingo Wildlife Refuge and Lake Texoma (the Section 4(f) resources).
Please mail or email any comments you have by August 2, 2021 to:
Environmental Programs Division Engineer
Oklahoma Department of Transportation
200 NE 21st Street
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105
environment@odot.org
