Route 79/I-195
Interchange Reconstruction Project
Fall River, MA
PART 1
NEPA
Environmental Assessment
7.
SECONDARY AND CUMULATIVE IMPACTS
7.1
Secondary Impacts
Secondary and cumulative effects of a project may be undetectable when viewed in the
context of direct impacts, but nonetheless can add to other disturbances and eventually
lead to a measurable environmental change. As defined by the Council on Environmental
Quality (CEQ) for implementing NEPA, secondary effects are those that are caused by a
project, but occur later in time or at a distance from the project. They comprise a wide
variety of secondary effects such as changes in land use, water quality, economic vitality
and population density. In contrast, cumulative effects (discussed below) are impacts
which result from the incremental consequences of an action when added to other past
and reasonably foreseeable future actions.
Unlike a highway or interchange project in an undeveloped area, the proposed
Interchange Reconstruction Project is in the heart of Fall River, the tenth largest city in
Massachusetts, a former industrial hub in Bristol County. Because the project is not a
new interchange where one did not previously exist, does not add highway capacity, and
is not new construction on a new location, the potential for indirect impacts on
environmental resources is far less than if the project were in an undeveloped area.
Nevertheless, improving access to the waterfront is one of the needs for the project and
where the potential for some indirect impacts exists.
Resource Management Plans
The project area is a developed, urban area. Resource protection plans are in place for all
identified sensitive resources. Sensitive resources include:
• Protected public open space in the project area is limited to the Fall River
Heritage State Park at Central Street;
• The Taunton River is a designated Wild and Scenic River and is incorporated into
the National Park Service’s Wild and Scenic River management program;
• Wetland resources are few and are primarily associated with the Quequechan
River, Crab Pond, and the Taunton River;
• The project area is within the Massachusetts Coastal Zone and a portion lies
within the Fall River/Mt. Hope Bay Designated Port Area; and
• Historic and cultural resources include the National Register-eligible American
Printing Company-Metacomet Mill Historic District; the Central Street Bridges;
and the Borden & Remington Corp. building on Anawan Street.
Development Trends
Fall River’s 2009 Master Plan describes declining manufacturing jobs, unemployment
higher than the state average, and slight increases in the number of businesses in the last
10 years. Fall River’s Office of Economic Development (FROED) works to stimulate
economic strength and expand new and existing business, and its economic development
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Secondary and Cumulative Impacts
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Route 79/I-195
Interchange Reconstruction Project
Fall River, MA
PART 1
NEPA
Environmental Assessment
efforts are multifaceted and geographically spread across the city. FROED’s activities
include attracting business to its existing and planned industrial parks outside the CBD,
including a major project on the Freetown border. This project, SouthCoast Science and
Technology Park, includes a new interchange on Route 24 and will be designated a
Chapter 43D Priority Development Site for expedited permitting. SouthCoast Science
and Technology Park will have the capacity for 3 million square feet of development.
FROED is also assisting with a new arts and culture district in the CBD and at Battleship
Cove and is promoting dense transit-oriented development at the proposed South Coast
Rail Davol Street station, City Pier, and a relocated Route 79 north of the interchange
project area. In addition, revised zoning on the waterfront from approximately Brightman
Street to Shaw Street is being considered to allow more flexible zoning, which would
result in development projects requiring fewer variances. A portion of the waterfront is in
the Designated Port Area designed to promote and protect marine industrial activities and
restrict some uses.
Because the Route 79/I-195 Interchange project area is an urban, developed area already
served by highways and local streets and because the project does not add capacity to the
highway system, the planned and potential development for the area that would be
influenced by the project are relatively few. While the project need for improved
connections from I-195 and Route 79 to the CBD and the waterfront is addressed by the
At-Grade (Preferred) alternative in terms of access as well as accessibility and visibility,
the potential of the interchange project to influence development activity on its own is
relatively small. The savings in travel time from I-195 to the waterfront over the No
Build will allow retail and restaurant establishments in the waterfront area to reach a
slightly broader market area. For the At-Grade (Preferred) alternative, since the traveltime savings are offset by the increase in travel times from I-195 to the Downtown, a
high-volume movement, the resulting annual aggregate travel times are greater than the
other alternatives. However, the difference in travel times between the alternatives is
small, and thus the travel-time difference will have negligible, if any, effects on regional
business sales and jobs because the difference is too small to have measurable effects.
As discussed in Section 6.15, Environmental Justice, the interchange project's influence
on social and community issues is expected to be low. The reconstructed highway
interchange will still be a major presence in the area and will not result in additional land
available for redevelopment. The Environmental Justice communities in the area could
benefit from the possible indirect effect of job expansion on the waterfront and from
better access to community facilities such as the Gates of the City Monument and
Heritage State Park. There is also potential for negative indirect effects from the project
when redevelopment near the interchange area occurs. However, the scale and type of
redevelopment is limited by the Designated Port Area; parkland restrictions; and
transportation infrastructure which will still dominate the area. At this time, potential
impacts to EJ communities in the project area from potential displacement, business
turnover, construction disruption, or rising rents are not expected and would not be
disproportionate to the limited effects anticipated to other businesses and residents.
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Secondary and Cumulative Impacts
7-2
Route 79/I-195
Interchange Reconstruction Project
Fall River, MA
PART 1
NEPA
Environmental Assessment
Traffic and air quality impacts as discussed in Section 6 are minor as the interchange
project will not add capacity, dramatically realign roadways, or degrade vehicular level of
service, or result in major new development or redevelopment.
Consequently, influence on project-area development from the proposed Interchange
Reconstruction Project is expected to be low, and secondary impacts caused by the
project are expected to be minor.
As discussed in Section 6.10, the roadway stormwater system will be compatible with the
city’s CSO Abatement Program and is expected to improve water quality.
7.2
Cumulative Impacts
Cumulative effects are impacts which result from the incremental consequences of an
action when added to other past and reasonably foreseeable future actions regardless of
what agency (Federal or non-Federal) or person undertakes them. Cumulative impacts
can result from individually minor but collectively significant actions taking place over a
period of time.
The project area is already developed. Planned and future development in the project area
is proposed to be transit oriented, thereby minimizing new traffic and associated impacts.
Further, sensitive resources, as discussed above, generally have management plans to
protect them from further degradation. Because the direct and indirect impacts of the
proposed Interchange Reconstruction Project are expected to be minor, the project will
not result in high cumulative impacts even when combined with the impacts of other
actions and projects.
Further, positive impacts are expected as a result of the interchange project. It is
anticipated that positive impacts on water quality will result from the proposed detention
basin and detention swale. The At-Grade (Preferred) alternative will be compatible with
other long-term economic development plans the city is proposing north of the project
area and is expected to provide long-term benefits to the visual and economic
environment in the area.
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Secondary and Cumulative Impacts
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