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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 148 / Thursday, August 5, 2021 / Proposed Rules rulemaking, call or email LCDR Ashley Holm, Waterways Management Division Chief, Sector Virginia, U.S. Coast Guard;
telephone 7576685580, email Ashley.E.Holm@uscg.mil.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Table of Abbreviations
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CFR Code of Federal Regulations COTP U.S. Coast Guard Captain of the Port DHS Department of Homeland Security FR Federal Register HRBT Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel HRCP Hampton Roads Connector Partners NPRM Notice of proposed rulemaking NSRA Navigation Safety Risk Assessment Section U.S.C. United States Code USCG United States Coast Guard USACE United States Army Corps of Engineers
II. Background, Purpose, and Legal Basis In April 2019, the Virginia Department of Transportation VDOT
awarded the design and construction of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel HRBT Expansion Project to the Hampton Roads Connector Partners HRCP, as the Design-Build contactor.
The HRBT Expansion Project is a major road transport infrastructure project that will create an 8-lane facility with 6
consistent use lanes along 9.9 miles of Interstate 64 I64, from Settlers Landing Interchange in Hampton, Virginia, to the Interstate 564 I564
interchange in Norfolk, Virginia. To better understand the waterways impact from the project, the USCG and U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers USACE
recommended the submission of a formal Navigation Safety Risk Assessment NSRA and Tunnel Construction Plan TCP prior to any permit or approval action by the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers.1 The NSRA
identified three key objectives for consideration. The first included potential impacts to current and forecasted vessel traffic directly related to the bridge and tunnel construction including all on-water operations and staging areas. The second aimed to identify the best/least disruptive times to schedule movement of constructionrelated vessels. Finally, it identified the measures necessary for implementation in order to minimize potential hazards to navigation. On-water construction activities are expected to last approximately 5 years 20212025. In support of construction efforts, multiple surface craft will be necessary on-site, 1 See Memorandum of Agreement between the United States Army Corps of Engineers and the United States Coast Guard, dated June 2, 2000
available at: https usace.contentdm.oclc.org/utils/
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transiting to and from, as well as prestaged, to ensure continued operations are maintained. The increase in waterborne traffic in the vicinity of construction areas and staging areas will introduce hazards to waterways users prior to and throughout the duration of the construction project. Specific hazards during the construction project include the proximity of dozens of construction-related vessels in the bridge area and fleeting areas, including material barges and construction equipment barges. In addition, construction of navigable spans by this equipment, as well as construction lighting and loud construction activity noises will make normal passage through the bridge areas unsafe except in areas specifically established as safe transit corridors by the project contractors, HRCP. The Sector Virginia Captain of the Port COTP has determined that these potential hazards associated with the HRBT Expansion Project will be a safety concern for anyone transiting in the vicinity of onwater construction activities related to the project. To discuss these safety concerns, representatives of the HRCP
along with the COTPs staff conducted a series of outreach meetings. These meetings covered the HRBT Expansion Project and the notional safety zones that would mitigate the hazards discussed above. Due to the COVID19
pandemic, those outreach meetings were conducted virtually on May 5th, 6th, and 7th. They were announced beforehand by a marine safety information bulletin 2 issued by the COTP, which is distributed to over 1,000 subscribed maritime stakeholders by email, along with direct email notification to community organizations in the coastal areas of the cities of Norfolk and Hampton, Virginia, which are the two cities in the immediate area of the construction activity. Twenty-six individuals in addition to Coast Guard personnel participated in the meetings.
The feedback received was consistent that the HRBT Expansion Project would create hazards to navigation for recreational vessels and that the suggested safety zones would help mitigate the risks. Additionally, community members expressed support that HRCP would have the ability to designate safe transit corridors through the South Trestle Bridge and Willoughby Bay Bridge to ensure that coastal property owners could still access the waters of Hampton Roads and 2 See USCG Sector Virginia Marine Safety Information Bulletin 20113 available at https
content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDHSCG/
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southern Chesapeake Bay during the duration of the construction project. The text of the proposed regulation has been drafted to incorporate feedback from these sessions.
The purpose of this rulemaking is to ensure the safety of waterways users on the navigable waters within the vicinity of the HRBT Expansion Project during the course of this multi-year construction project. The Coast Guard is proposing this rulemaking under authority in 46 U.S.C. 70034 previously 33 U.S.C. 1231.
III. Discussion of Proposed Rule The COTP is proposing to establish multiple safety zones to promote safety to waterways users during the HRBT
Expansion Project. The Coast Guard currently anticipates the need for 6
safety zones. The proposed safety zones will be used to accommodate pre-staged waterborne equipment and establish buffer zones around two marine staging areas, one safe harbor in case of anticipated severe weather, and the marine construction work sites expected in the vicinity of the North Trestle Bridge and North Island, South Trestle Bridge and South Island and the north and south side of the Willoughby Bay Bridge.
The first safety zone Zone 1:
Hampton Flats Mooring Area would be established in the Hampton Flats covering a mooring/staging area to accommodate 6 barges. Specifically, the first safety zone would cover all waters of the Hampton Flats, from surface to bottom, encompassed by a line connecting the following points beginning at 365940.41 N, 762210.66 W, thence to 370001.84
N, 762101.69 W, thence to 365952.62 N, 762057.23 W, thence to 365931.19 N, 762206.20 W, and back to the beginning point. The Hampton Flats Mooring Area would provide critical staging capability necessary to the project. Once the HRCP
begins the installation of mooring buoys within the mooring area, the public would be restricted entry or mooring within the safety zone. Mariners would be required to observe lighted marker buoys along the perimeter and at each of the corners marking the safety zone.
In the event of inclement weather, this mooring/staging area would not be able to be used for safe refuge.
The second safety zone Zone 2:
Phoebus Safe Harbor Area would be established as a safe harbor area between Phoebus Channel and the North Trestle Bridge in the event of anticipated severe weather. Specifically, all waters west of the Phoebus Channel, from surface to bottom, encompassed by
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