Omaha, Neb - The National Park Service (NPS) has been directed by Congress to coordinate a comprehensive study of the routes of the Lincoln Highway. Established in 1913, the Lincoln Highway was the first transcontinental highway in the United States and includes more than 3000 miles of roadways from New York City to San Francisco. Today, the roads that comprise the Lincoln Highway approximate sections of the present day Federal and State highway system: U.S. 1, 30, 40, 50, and I-80 traversing New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, and California. At one point in its early history, the highway also crossed through the northeastern corner of Colorado. The Lincoln Highway Special Resource Study will include an evaluation of the significance of the Highway and alternative ways of preserving and interpreting significant features associated with the Highway.

The first part of this study will evaluate the national significance of the Lincoln Highway, and its suitability and feasibility as a potential unit of the National Park System. An area is considered nationally significant if it is an outstanding example of a particular kind of resource and retains a high degree of integrity as an unspoiled example of that resource. To be determined suitable for inclusion in the National Park System, an area must represent a theme that is not already adequately represented in the system or already protected by another agency. Feasibility factors include land ownership, acquisition costs, costs of staffing, threats to the resource and local interest in long-term preservation.

The second part of the Lincoln Highway Special Resource Study will present management alternatives for long-term preservation of the Highway, including alternatives involving state and local governments and private sector organizations. The potential environmental impacts of each management option will be evaluated as part of this study. The study is expected to take three years to complete. Sändra Washington, NPS Midwest Region Chief of the Planning and Compliance Division said, "Our Lincoln Highway team will spend much of this year studying the routes that make up the highway in more detail and documenting the road itself and the roadside architecture and attractions directly related to it." By this time next year, the NPS hopes to have a set of management alternatives ready to present to the public for comment.

Public comments on the general scope of the project are welcome; general comments received by February 15, 2002 will be taken into consideration before preliminary management alternatives are developed. Those comments can be sent to Ruth Heikkinen, National Park Service, Midwest Regional Office, 1709 Jackson Street, Omaha, NE 68102. She also may be reached by email at Ruth_Heikkinen.nps.gov, or by calling 402-221-7285. A newsletter and a website will be developed to help the interested public follow the progress of this project and provide feedback. Anyone interested in being included on the mailing list for the newsletter should contact Heikkinen.

List of Regional Public Affairs Contacts:

NPS Northeast Region -- Edie Shean-Hammond
NPS Midwest Region - Flo Six
NPS Intermountain Region -- Rick Frost
NPS Pacific West Region -- Holly Bundock

For more maps click on image above

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