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ado INDIANA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION b 100 North Senate Avenue Room N755 p Indianapolis, Indiana 46204-2249 ��TOFP�54 (317) 232-5533 FAX (317) 232-0238 An Equal Opportunity Employer a http:11www. in.gov/dot JOSEPHE. KERNAN, Governor October 4, 2004 J. BRYANNICOL, Commissioner Writer's Direct Line 317-232-5210, Historic Preservation Commission of South Bend and St. Joseph County City -County Building, Room 1123 227 West Jefferson Blvd. South Bend, IN 46601 Re: MOT Project STP -5571( ), Des. 9901690, improvement of the crossing of SR 23 over the railroad at Granger, St. Joseph County (refer to the enclosed graphics) The above referenced Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) project is an undertaking of the Indiana Division of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA-IN). This letter discusses the project and is written as part of the early coordination phase of the environmental process. We are requesting your input and comments on any environmentally damaging effects of this undertaking in order to prepare an environmental study. If no response is received within 45 days, it will be assumed that you feel that no significant environmental damage will result from this project. Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act requires that FHWA-IN consider the effects of the project on historic properties (historic resources), i. e., historic in the sense of being eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. MOT, as the project applicant, has been authorized by the FIIWA-IN to initiate Section 106 consultation for this undertaking. For the purposes of Section 106, the "area of potential effect" (APE) for archaeological resources coincides with the project limits. The APE for other kinds of cultural resources is considered to be the area within project limits plus the properties that are adjacent to project limits. Per the "FHWA Indiana Division Section 106 Consultation Procedures" and 36 CFR 800.2(c), the FHWA-IN and the Indiana State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) are historic resources consulting parties for this project, and this letter invites other parties to be consulting parties to participate in efforts to identify historic properties that may be affected by this project, assess the effects of the project on those resources, and seek ways to avoid, minimize, or mitigate any adverse effect on historic properties. Those other parties are the St. Joseph County Historian, the Historic Preservation Commission of South Bend and St. Joseph County, the Northern Indiana Historical Society, the Michiana Jewish Historical Society, the South Bend Heritage Foundation, and the Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana. In regard to historic resources, if no written response is received from an invited consulting party within 30 days expressing a desire to be a consulting party, it will be assumed that they have no concerns, and that party will not be considered a consulting party for this project. In accord with 36 CFR 800.3(f), we request that the SHPO notify this office within 30 days if the SHPO is aware of any party, other than those listed above, that may be entitled to be an historic resources consulting party' for this project. If the SHPO or any invited consulting party responds in writing to this letter, they are to send a copy of that response to the FHWA-IN at the address at the end of this letter. In the project area SR 23 runs east and west. The existing highway has two 12 -foot travel lanes with 11 -foot shoulders. The existing right-of-way width along SR 23 is basically 40 feet, but it is 50 feet wide west of Adams Road and 50 feet wide east of Bittersweet Road on the south side of the