[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 214 (Friday, November 4, 2016)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 76866-76867]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-26655]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Coast Guard
33 CFR Part 117
[Docket No. USCG-2016-0963]
RIN 1625-AA09
Drawbridge Operation Regulations; Tchefuncta River, Madisonville,
LA
AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.
ACTION: Notice of temporary deviation from regulations; request for
comments.
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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard has issued a temporary deviation from the
operating schedule that governs the State Route 22 Bridge (Madisonville
(SR22) swing span bridge) across the Tchefuncta River, mile 2.5, at
Madisonville, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana. This deviation will test a
change to the drawbridge operation schedule to determine whether a
permanent change to the schedule is needed. This deviation will allow
the bridge to only open for vessels on the hour during the day and to
not open for vessels during the weekday peak traffic hours.
DATES: This deviation is effective from 6 a.m. on November 21, 2016
through midnight on May 18, 2017.
Comments and related material must reach the Coast Guard on or
before January 18, 2017.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by docket number USCG-
2016-0963 using the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. See the ``Public Participation and Request for
Comments'' portion of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below for
instructions on submitting comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this test
deviation, call or email David Frank, Bridge Administrator at 504-671-
2128, email [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background, Purpose and Legal Basis
The State Route 22 (SR 22) swing span bridge across Tchefuncta
River, mile 2.5, at Madisonville, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana
presently operates under 33 CFR 117.500. The SR 22 swing bridge has a
vertical clearance of 6.2 feet above Mean High Water (MHW) in the
closed-to-navigation position and unlimited clearance in the open-to-
navigation position.
Local governmental officials from St. Tammany Parish and the City
of Madisonville, in conjunction with the Louisiana Department of
Transportation and Development (LDOTD) have requested that the
operating regulation of the SR 22 swing span bridge be changed in order
to better accommodate the increased vehicular traffic crossing the
bridge especially during the peak, weekday rush hours. A traffic study
conducted by the LDOTD has determined that the existing vehicular
traffic at the intersection of SR 22 and SR 21/SR 1077 is over capacity
at peak hours and causes unacceptable levels of delay to roadway
traffic. This situation is compounded by the opening of the bridge
during these peak hours. A combination of modifications to the
operating schedule of the bridge and modifications to the traffic
controls at this intersection will improve traffic flow and reduce
traffic delays.
Approximately 7,500 vehicles cross the bridge daily between the
hours of 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. Vessel openings for the month of July
indicate that the bridge opened to pass vessels 118 times during the
week and 202 times during the weekend. Vessel openings for the month of
August dropped to 68 openings during the week and 85 openings during
the weekend.
Concurrent with the publication of the Test Deviation, a Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) [USCG-2016-0963] has been issued to allow
the LDOTD to test the proposed schedule and to obtain data and public
comments. The test period will be in effect during the entire NPRM
comment period. The Coast Guard will review the logs of the drawbridge,
the traffic counts provided by LDOTD, and evaluate public comments from
this NPRM and the above referenced Temporary Deviation to determine if
the requested change to the permanent special drawbridge operating
regulation is warranted.
The deviation to test the proposed schedule will allow the SR 22
Bridge, mile 2.5 at Madisonville to operate as follows: The draw of the
SR22 Bridge shall open on signal from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. From 6 a.m. to 7
p.m., the draw need only open on the hour, except that the draw need
not open for the passage of vessels at 8 a.m., 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. Monday
through Friday except federal holidays. The bridge will open at any
time an emergency.
During the 180-day deviation, LDOTD will continue to monitor
vehicular traffic counts and work to make roadway traffic control
improvements to further reduce vehicular traffic delays.
There are no alternate routes available for vessels that wish to
transit the bridge site; however, if vessels have a vertical clearance
requirement of less than 6.2 feet above MHW, they may transit the
bridge site at any time.
II. Public Participation and Request for Comments
We view public participation as essential to effective rulemaking,
and will consider all comments and material received during the comment
period. Your comment can help shape the outcome of this rulemaking. If
you submit a comment, please include the docket number for this
rulemaking, indicate the specific section of this document to which
each comment applies, and provide a reason for each suggestion or
recommendation.
We encourage you to submit comments through the Federal eRulemaking
Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. If your material cannot be
submitted using http://www.regulations.gov, contact the person in the
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document for alternate
instructions.
[[Page 76867]]
We accept anonymous comments. All comments received will be posted
without change to http://www.regulations.gov and will include any
personal information you have provided. For more about privacy and the
docket, you may review a Privacy Act notice regarding the Federal
Docket Management System in the March 24, 2005, issue of the Federal
Register (70 FR 15086).
Documents mentioned in this notice of temporary deviation from
regulations, and all public comments, are in our online docket at
http://www.regulations.gov and can be viewed by following that Web
site's instructions. Additionally, if you go to the online docket and
sign up for email alerts, you will be notified when comments are posted
or a final rule is published.
Dated: October 31, 2016.
David M. Frank,
Bridge Administrator, Eighth Coast Guard District.
[FR Doc. 2016-26655 Filed 11-3-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-04-P