Climate and Air Quality

Air quality issues in the I-70 Mountain Corridor are an important consideration in alternatives development. The air quality in the corridor is impacted by congestion, vehicle emissions, wood burning, sanding of the corridor during snow storm events, and unpaved roadways adjacent to I-70. Characteristics such as elevation, prevailing wind speeds and direction, temperature, and terrain impact air quality as well; and the climate of each section of the I-70 Mountain Corridor also plays a role.

The I-70 Mountain Corridor passes both through and by Class I and Class II Wilderness Areas where visibility is federally mandated. Visibility is directly linked to air quality. As alternatives to improve the I-70 Mountain Corridor are considered, the alternatives must take in account ways to avoid, minimize, and mitigate impacts to air quality. The climate and air quality of the I-70 Mountain Corridor is discussed in detail in the I-70 Mountain Corridor Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement – Climate and Air Quality Section.

The Evaluation Guidance details how I-70 Mountain Corridor alternatives will be evaluated. The Alternative Evaluation Guidance documents how healthy environment criteria will be used to determine how well an alternative is able to avoid, minimize, and mitigate impacts to biological resources. Criteria are provided for use at each level of alternative analysis.