News Release

May 12, 2008

Location design public hearing for I-29
in Woodbury County to be held May 22

AMES, Iowa – The Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT) will hold a location design public hearing for a segment of I-29 in Woodbury County May 22 between 5 and 7 p.m. at the Sioux City Convention Center, Rooms 1 and 2, 801 Fourth St.

The hearing will provide information regarding four alternatives for the 3.5-mile segment 2 of I-29 from approximately 0.25 mile south of the BNSF Railway Company's bridge over the Missouri River north and west to about 0.7 mile west of the existing Hamilton Boulevard interchange. The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for this project will be available for review at the hearing.

This project is one of three segments being developed to improve I-29 through Sioux City from the South Dakota border east and south to approximately 0.5 mile south of the Sergeant Bluff/Sioux Gateway Airport interchange.

The proposed improvement being discussed provides for expanding the existing four-lane roadway to six lanes and reconfiguring several interchanges; specifically, the Floyd Boulevard, Nebraska Street/Pierce Street , U.S. 77/Wesley Parkway, and Hamilton Boulevard interchanges. The interchanges would be reconfigured to increase safety, enhance connections to the local roadway system, improve traffic operation, replace aging infrastructure, and address traffic merging issues that currently exist in this corridor.

The DEIS evaluates four alternatives – three build proposals and one no-build proposal that would leave the segment unchanged. Potential impacts of the alternatives to wetlands, water resources, historic buildings, homes, businesses, parks, and public facilities and services have been evaluated and are included in the DEIS.

This is your opportunity to review and comment on the proposed de minimis effect of the I-29 segment 2 project on portions of Chris Larsen Park (a Section 4(f) Resource). De minimis impacts on publicly owned parks, recreation areas, and wildlife and waterfowl refuges are defined as those that do not “adversely affect the activities, features and attributes” of the Section 4(f) Resource (Chris Larsen Park).

This public hearing will be conducted utilizing an open forum format. No formal presentation will be made. Iowa DOT staff members will be present with plans, displays and related information to discuss the project informally. Interested individuals are encouraged to attend any time during the hearing to express their views and ask questions about the proposed improvement.

Oral and written statements will be accepted at the public hearing. Written statements and related exhibits, in place of or in addition to oral statements made during the public hearing, will be accepted at the hearing or may be submitted to the Office of Location and Environment, Iowa DOT, 800 Lincoln Way, Ames, Iowa 50010. All written material received by June 9, 2008, will be included in the hearing transcript.

A copy of the DEIS will also be available for viewing at the Iowa DOT's District 3 Office, 2800 Gordon Drive, and at the following Sioux City Public Library locations.

•  Main Sioux City Public Library, 529 Pierce St.
•  Morningside Branch, 4005 Morningside Ave.
•  Perry Creek Branch, 2912 Hamilton Blvd.

A deadline of June 9, 2008 , has been established for receipt of comments on the document. All comments received on the DEIS by that date will be considered by the Iowa DOT and Federal Highway Administration in their evaluation of the project's environmental impacts. Comments on the DEIS should be submitted to James P. Rost, director of the Office of Location and Environment, at the above Ames address.

Pertinent information developed by the Iowa DOT in the planning and design of this project, as well as correspondence received from governmental agencies or public advisory groups interested in or affected by the proposed highway improvement, will be available for inspection during the hearing.

For general information regarding the proposed improvement or the public hearing, contact Tony Lazarowicz, District 3 engineer, Iowa DOT, 2800 Gordon Drive, P.O. Box 987 , Sioux City, Iowa 51102, telephone 800-284-4368 or
712-276-1451, or e-mail tony.lazarowicz@dot.iowa.gov. Additional information is available about the proposed project and the location design hearing at Iowa DOT's Web site http://iowadot.gov/i29/may22_pim.htm .

Federal and state laws prohibit employment and/or public accommodation discrimination on the basis of age, color, creed, disability, gender identity, national origin, pregnancy, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation or veteran's status. If you believe you have been discriminated against, please contact the Iowa Civil Rights Commission at 800-457-4416 or Iowa Department of Transportation's affirmative action officer. If you need accommodations because of a disability to access the Iowa Department of Transportation's services, contact the agency's affirmative action officer at 800-262-0003.