SYSTRA has led many NEPA-compliant Environmental Assessment and Environmental Impact Statement projects for a variety of transportation agencies, modes, and geographic areas. Our experience allows us to understand and execute every step of NEPA process from Alternatives Analysis (AA) to the Record of Decision and to guide agencies through statewide compliance in lieu of/in addition to federal documentation.
SYSTRA’s planners are experts at defining and evaluating transportation alternatives in full compliance with the Federal Transit Administration’s Alternatives Analysis guidelines and the Federal Railroad Administration’s Railroad Corridor Transportation Planning Guidelines. SYSTRA works closely with each client to develop alternatives for a corridor or area of need, focusing on the differentiating features, benefits, and effects of potential solutions.
SYSTRA has developed numerous New Starts applications which have allowed projects to reach major FTA design, funding and implementation milestones. SYSTRA’s expertise on evolving FTA guidelines enables us to complete this component of the funding package for our clients in an efficient and timely manner.
A key element in the environmental process is Public Involvement. We have extensive experience in public outreach/stakeholder program development and implementation, including development of outreach materials, facilitation and conduct of meetings and data management. Our approach recognizes the need to make technical information understandable and that the best information sharing comes from the project leadership coordinated with our clients’ philosophies and objectives.
Representative Projects:
NJ Transit Access to the Region's Core (ARC) Environmental Impact Statement
NJ/NY
The tunnels and associated infrastructure that feed into Penn Station New York (PSNY) are virtually at capacity. On both sides of the Hudson River, plans for growth and development rely on safe and efficient connections, and increased trans-Hudson capacity would provide access to planned activity centers on Manhattan’s far West Side. A new trans-Hudson tunnel is also a critical element for future growth of the existing NJ Transit rail network. With additional tunnel capacity it will be possible to improve services and reduce travel times for existing riders with a one-seat ride between Rockland and Orange counties in New York and counties in north-central New Jersey.
SYSTRA, in joint venture, prepared an EIS for the Access to the Region’s Core project. The project examined investment strategies to provide new trans‐Hudson River rail passenger capacity and improve accessibility to midtown Manhattan from NJ and NY counties west of the Hudson River. SYSTRA was responsible for overall Project Management of the planning, design, and environmental assessment required to complete environmental documentation in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) New Starts guidelines. SYSTRA was also responsible for leading the public outreach initiative to keep the public and federal, state, and local agencies involved in the study process. The environmental review process was completed in January 2009 with the FTA issuance of a Record of Decision, allowing the project to move forward into final design and construction phases. SYSTRA also provided support in the preparation of the FTA Section 5309 New Starts/Preliminary Engineering Applications.
SYSTRA’s efforts also included engineering and operations support, and our specialized track engineers helped develop sensible and cost‐effective trans‐Hudson capacity enhancement solutions that are flexible, connective, and safe. Working in tandem with these efforts was SYSTRA’s operations group. Operations in and around PSNY, and the rail lines leading to it from Newark, NJ, involve several railroads and impact NJ Transit’s rail system throughout New Jersey. Understanding how the facilities are used today by all of the railroads was critical and instrumental in the analysis of future expansion opportunities. SYSTRA helped to develop operating plans that will validate the operational feasibility and estimate capacity of each of the alternatives as well as the associated repercussions, if any, on the remainder of the NJ Transit rail network. The operating plans will also help define the functional requirements of the proposed infrastructure, such as station throughput, the number of platform tracks, connectivity with the existing PSNY, line capacity, and maximum operating speeds. A core element of the operational analyses was the rail simulation modeling performed with SYSTRA RAILSIM® Software Suite.
Planning
Engineering
Operations