Jacksonville, Fla. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
(USACE), Jacksonville District has issued a public notice in relation to an
application for a Department of Army permit, submitted by All Aboard Florida –
Operations, LLC., Coral Gables, FL. Comments will be accepted through May 2,
2016.
All Aboard Florida proposes to construct an intercity
passenger railroad between Orlando International Airport and West Palm Beach,
Fla. The new rail infrastructure would include new tracks, bridges over and
under highways, shoreline stabilization associated with bridges over waterways,
new signalization, new communication and train control systems, utility cable
installation and multiple stormwater ponds with associated piping and
infrastructure.
The Corps is neither a proponent nor opponent of any permit
proposal. The decision whether to issue a permit will be based on the
information received through the Public Notice and the evaluation of the
probable impact to associated wetlands. Comments regarding the application will
be accepted through (insert date) and should be submitted in writing to the
District Engineer through the Cocoa Permits Section, 400 High Point Dr., Suite
600, Cocoa Beach, FL 32926 within 21 days from the date of this notice.
The Corps is a cooperating agency in Federal Railroad
Administration’s (FRA) Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed All
Aboard Florida – Orlando to Miami, Florida Intercity Passenger Rail
Project. The FRA published a Final
Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the All Aboard Florida (AAF) project
in the Federal Register; on August 21, 2015.
Copies of the FEIS are available for public review online at FRA’s
website http://www.fra.dot.gov/Page/P0819.
The proposed project consists of two corridors, East-West
(E-W) and North-South (N-S). The E-W Corridor would begin at the north end of
the Orlando International Airport and extend east to Cocoa paralleling State
Road 528. The approximately 32-mile corridor would require all new rail
infrastructure, structures and systems. The N-S portion occurs within the
existing Florida East Coast Railroad right-of-way between Cocoa and West Palm
Beach. This segment is approximately 297 miles long and would require the
replacement of tracks which previously existed within the corridor, relocation
of existing utilities, replacement or repair of several existing bridge
structures, and new systems.
The Public Notice is available http://www.saj.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/PublicNotices.aspx
For additional information regarding the Corps’ regulatory
program, visit http://saj.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/SourceBook.aspx
-30-