Sir Francis Drake Boulevard Road Improvements Project

Sir Francis Drake Boulevard Road Improvement Environmental Assessment/Initial Study (EA/IS) (2015)

In 2015, the Federal Highway Administration Central Federal Lands Highway Division (CFLHD), in cooperation with County of Marin and the National Park Service (NPS), proposed improvements to Sir Francis Drake Boulevard within Point Reyes National Seashore. The project included improvements to approximately twelve miles of Sir Francis Drake Boulevard from the intersection with Pierce Point Road to the intersection with Chimney Rock Road. The proposed improvements primarily consist of resurfacing, restoring, and rehabilitating Sir Francis Drake Boulevard in a manner that will closely follow the existing roadway. The NPS posted the Environmental Assessment/Initial Study (EA/IS) with proposed Mitigated Negative Declaration for the Sir Francis Drake Boulevard Improvement Project to the the NPS's Planning, Environment & Public Comment (PEPC) website and solicited comments on the EA from July 15, 2015 to August 13, 2015. A Finding of No Significant Impact/ Mitigated Negative Declaration (FONSI/MND) was issued in August 2015.

Sir Francis Drake Boulevard Road Improvement EA/IS Subsequent Initial Study

In 2017, the FHWA-CFLHD, in cooperation with Marin County and the NPS, initiated a Subsequent Initial Study (IS) and public comment period to analyze changes to the Sir Francis Drake Boulevard Improvement Project. Since the FONSI/MND was issued in August 2015, the FHWA-CFLHD had modified the Action Alternative to further improve conditions along Sir Francis Drake Boulevard and to provide detail to the mitigation approach to compensate for impacts identified in the original EA/IS. The FHWA-CFLHD was also actively coordinating with Marin County and state agencies to mitigate upland riparian impacts. Changes to the Action Alternative included: (1) installing a bridge at Schooner Creek; (2) installing biotechnical bank stabilization along a segment of East Schooner Creek; (3) re-establishing a historic wetland at Drakes Beach and reconfiguring the parking lot; and (4) constructing two ponds to provide aquatic breeding habitat for the California red-legged frog. The comment period for the Sir Francis Drake Boulevard Road Improvement EA/IS Subsequent Initial Study ended Thursday, November 6, 2017.

More information is available on the Sir Francis Drake Blvd Road Improvements page on the PEPC website.