Plans & Projects > Find by location > NW Region >

US 8 - Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS)

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) has completed the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) on 40 miles of US 8 between WIS 35 (North) and US 53 in Polk and Barron Counties. The FEIS identifies the selected preferred alternative for the corridor.

The US 8 study was initiated by legislative mandate to determine how to best meet the long-term transportation needs of this corridor. Alternatives for the corridor include improvement of the existing route to a four-lane highway as well as potential bypasses of Turtle Lake and Barron and realignments in several locations.

Public input on the Draft EIS document, alternatives, and impacts was solicited during the summer of 2006 following its publication in early June 2006. Selection of a preferred alternative for US 8 will be made by WisDOT after evaluating engineering and environmental factors for the various alternatives, and careful consideration of comments from various agencies, affected communities and property owners.

Currently, there is no funding for improvement of US 8. The soonest that construction of any improvement along the route could begin is after 2010.

An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is the decision document for a major highway project like US 8. The EIS pulls together community and agency interests and recommends a future course of action.

An EIS is required by the National and Wisconsin Environmental Policy Acts for projects with potentially significant social, economic, natural resource and other impacts. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is the lead agency for the EIS which is prepared in accordance with their guidelines.

An important aspect of the FEIS is its designation as a “Tier 1” environmental document. The Tier 1 document is used to outline the basic location and design vision for the 40-mile US 8 corridor between WIS 35 (N) and US 53. Future phases, called Tier 2 and Tier 3, will be used to provide detailed engineering for corridor preservation efforts and eventual design and construction. Additional environmental documentation will also be required. While it could take decades to complete the entire corridor, the preferred alternative for US 8 forms the foundation for WisDOT’s approach to funding and scheduling the highest-need sections of improvements for this corridor.

The FEIS has been published and is available below. Hard copies are available for viewing at the Northwest Region Transportation office, 1701 North 4th Street, Superior, WI.

The following files are in Adobe PDF format. 
(Note: Some files may take longer to download due to file size and individual connection speed.)

 Return to top

Final EIS

Section 0

• 0.0 (984 KB)
  • 0.0 Cover
  • 0.0 Executive Summary
• 0.1 - 0.2 (70 KB)
  • 0.1 Table of Contents
  • 0.2 Glossary of Terms and Acronyms

Section 1

• 1.1, 1.2 (238 KB)
  • 1.1 Statement of Project Purpose and Need
  • 1.2 Project Background
• 1.3 Need for Project (490 KB)

Section 2

• 2.1 Alternatives Development and Evaluation Methodology (146 KB)
• 2.2 Initial Alternatives Considered - Section 1 (664 KB)
• 2.2 Initial Alternatives Considered - Section 2 (840 KB)
• 2.2 Initial Alternatives Considered - Section 3 (1.2 MB)
• 2.3, 2.4 (39 KB)
  • 2.3 Value Engineering Study
  • 2.4 Alternatives Dismissed from Further Study
• 2.5 Alternatives Retained for Detailed Study - Section 1 (1.3 MB)
• 2.5 Section 2 Table and Section 2 (810 KB)
  • 2.5 Alternatives Retained for Detailed Study - Section 2 Table
  • 2.5 Alternatives Retained for Detailed Study - Section 2
• 2.6 Preliminary WisDOT Recommended Alternatives for DEIS (149 KB)
• 2.7 Preferred Alternative and Future Tier Efforts (796 KB)

 Return to top

Section 3

• 3.1 Natural Environment (845 KB)
• 3.2 Socio-Economic Environment (62 KB)
• 3.3 (579 KB)
  • 3.3 Land Use - Section 1 Figure
  • 3.3 Land Use - Section 1
  • 3.3 Land Use - Section 2
• 3.4 Other Projects-Potential Influences (286 KB)

Section 4

• 4.1 (813 KB)
  • 4.1 Direct Effects to Natural Environment - Section 1 Table 4.1.1.3-1
  • 4.1 Direct Effects to Natural Environment - Section 1
  • 4.1 Direct Effects to Natural Environment - Section 2 Table 4.1.1.7-1
  • 4.1 Direct Effects to Natural Environment - Section 2
  • 4.1 Direct Effects to Natural Environment - Section 3
• 4.2 Direct Effects to Socio-Economic Environment (87 KB)
• 4.3 Indirect and Cumulative Effects to Land Use (756 KB)
• 4.4 - 4.8 (230 KB)
  • 4.4 Transportation
  • 4.5 Permits and Approvals
  • 4.6 Irreversible or Irretrievable Commitment Sources
  • 4.7 Energy
  • 4.8 Construction Impacts
• 4.9 Impacts Summary Table 4.9.1-1 (199 KB)
• 4.9 Impacts Summary (189 KB)
• 4.10 - 4.12 (191 KB)
  • 4.10 Secton 4_f_ and 6_f_ Impacts
  • 4.11 Measures to Minimize and Mitigate Adverse Impacts
  • 4.12 Pending Issues and Commitments

 Return to top

Section 5, 6, 7, 8

• 5.1-3, 6.1-5, 7.1-5, 8.0 (337 KB)
  • 5.1-3 List of Preparers
  • 6.1-5 Agency Circulation List
  • 7.1-5 Comments and Coordination Prior to the Availability of DEIS
  • 8.0 Index

Appendices

• Appendix A - WisDOT Origin-Destination Studies (112 KB)
• Appendix B1 - Segment I (1008 KB)
• Appendix B2 - Segment II and III (1 MB)
• Appendix B3 - Segment IV (673 KB)
• Appendix B4 - Segment V (940 KB)
• Appendix B5 - Segment VI (868 KB)
• Appendix B6 - Segment VII (234 KB)
• Appendix B7 - Turtle Lake sheet 1 (626 KB)
• Appendix B8 - Turtle Lake sheet 2 (421 KB)
• Appendix B9 - Turtle Lake sheet 3 (345 KB)
• Appendix B10 -Barron sheet 1 (854 KB)
• Appendix B11 - Barron sheet 2 (1.5 MB)
• Appendix B12 - Barron sheet 3 (411 KB)
• Appendix C.1 - Comments and Coordination Prior to DEIS - Section 1 (919 KB)
• Appendix C.1 - Comments and Coordination Prior to DEIS - Section 2 (1 MB)
• Appendix C.1 - Comments and Coordination Prior to DEIS - Section 3 (1.1 MB)
• Appendix C.1 - Comments and Coordination Prior to DEIS - Section 4 (633 KB)
• Appendix C.1 - Comments and Coordination Prior to DEIS - Section 5 (222 KB)
• Appendix C.1 - Comments and Coordination Prior to DEIS - Section 6 (379 KB)
• Appendix C.1 - Comments and Coordination Prior to DEIS - Section 7 (782 KB)
• Appendix C.1 - Comments and Coordination Prior to DEIS - Section 8 (796 KB)
• Appendix C.1 - Comments and Coordination Prior to DEIS - Section 9 (946 KB)
• Appendix C.2 - Comments and Coordination After DEIS - Section 1 (1.3 MB)
• Appendix C.2 - Comments and Coordination After DEIS - Section 2 (1.1 MB)
• Appendix D - Phase 1 HazMat Site Summary and Addendum Letter (246 KB)
• Appendix E - Noise Analysis Summary - Section 1 (1.1 MB)
• Appendix E - Noise Analysis Summary - Section 2 (502 KB)
• Appendix E - Noise Analysis Summary - Section 3 (479 KB)
• Appendix E - Noise Analysis Summary - Section 4 (487 KB)
• Appendix E - Noise Analysis Summary - Section 5 (251 KB)
• Appendix F - Air Quality Analysis (211 KB)
• Appendix G - Conceptual Stage Relocation Plan (392 KB)
• Appendix H.1 - Analysis of Indirect Effects on Environmental Resources (33 KB)
• Appendix H.2 - Additional Policy Tools (31 KB)
• Appendix I - Draft Section 4_f_ Screening Worksheets (795 KB)

 Return to top

Back to US 8 EIS home page

You will need the Adobe Reader (provided free of charge) to view PDF files. For more information about getting your free copy of the Adobe Reader, visit WisDOT's Software information page.

Questions about the content of this page:
Northwest Transportation Region, superior.dtd@dot.state.wi.us
Last modified: November 29, 2007