Public Comment Period Opens for the Review of the Environmental Assessment for the Improvements to NC 12 on Bodie Island

Date: March 11, 2010
Contact: Cyndy Holda, 252-473-2111  Ext. 148

Superintendent Mike Murray announced today the National Park Service (NPS), in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration, is seeking public comment on the Environmental Assessment (EA) for the proposed improvements to NC 12 on Bodie Island, from Whalebone Junction south for a distance of 5.28 miles.  The proposed highway improvements would include resurfacing of the roadway, replacement of existing culverts and signs, and widening of the existing two-foot paved shoulder to five-foot paved shoulders.  The proposed improvements are needed to improve the safety of motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians using NC 12.

The public comment period opens on March 10, 2010 and closes on April 8, 2010.  During the public comment period, all interested persons will be given the opportunity to review and provide comments on the proposed highway improvements.  A 30-day public comment period is part of the process to prepare an EA pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.  

Electronic comments may be submitted online at the NPS’s Planning, Environment, and Public Comment (PEPC) website at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/caha.  Click on the “NC 12 Improvements” link to view the project scoping documents.  NPS encourages commenting electronically through PEPC.  If you wish to submit your written comments in hard copy (e.g., in a letter format), you may send them by U.S. Postal Service or other mail delivery service or hand-deliver them to:  Mike Murray, Superintendent, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, 1401 National Park Drive, Manteo, NC  27954.  Comments will not be accepted by fax, email, or in any other way than those specified above.  To ensure that your comments are included in the process, they must be entered or post‑marked by April 14, 2010.

For more information, please contact Lisa Landers, Federal Highway Administration Environmental Protection Specialist, at [phone], or Meghan Carfioli, NPS Natural Resource Manager, at [phone] x135.