Freeway Expansion

“U.S. Agency Pulls Back on 710 Plan” is misleading (Dec. 31). It reports that a Federal Highway Administration request for a supplemental environmental impact study signals a change in the federal government’s support for the 710 Freeway project.

The lack of progress on this project, coupled with potentially significant changes, led the FHWA to prepare a reevaluation. That reevaluation resulted in a determination that a supplemental environmental impact study was necessary. Such actions are normal in the administration of the National Environmental Policy Act.

It is our responsibility, as the federal agency entrusted with making these important decisions concerning American roads, to exercise diligence. It is the California Department of Transportation’s responsibility to decide whether or not to pursue this project.

Mary E. Peters

Federal Highway

Administration, Washington