Existing Roads. Existing roads would be used for construction and maintenance access as much as possible; however, some existing roads would be widened up to 30 feet, including cut and fill slopes to accommodate construction equipment. Roads that would be widened include designated National Forest System (NFS) roads (i.e., roads shown on the ▇▇▇▇▇▇ District Motor Vehicle Use Map) and non-system roads. Widening of existing roads on BLM-administered public lands would not be required because there is adequate access to the Bordertown Substation. Roads within occupied or unoccupied potential habitat for the federally-listed threatened plant, ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ivesia (Ivesia webberi), and the Forest Service sensitive plant, Dog Valley ivesia (Ivesia aperta var. canina), would not be widened (design feature SV 6 in the FEIS). While widening is not allowed within these habitats, blading and installation of erosion control measures (design feature SV 6 in the FEIS) would be permitted. Several designated NFS roads have seasonal use restrictions from April 1 to November 18 that would be followed during construction (design feature RT 1 in the FEIS). All designated NFS roads widened for construction or maintenance access would be restored to the original roadbed. A description of restoration activities that would be performed following construction and maintenance activities is provided in Section 2.3.3.2 of the FEIS. New temporary access roads (i.e., centerline travel road and spur roads) would be constructed to pole sites, transmission wire setup sites, and staging areas when there are no existing roads available. Access roads would be 30 feet wide and located within the 300- to 600-foot-wide corridor (variable-width corridor). The variable-width corridor would be centered on the transmission line and would measure 300 feet wide where slopes are 10 percent or less, and 600 feet wide where slopes are greater than 10 percent. Temporary roads would be constructed primarily by mowing or masticating vegetation in a manner that leaves root systems intact to encourage regrowth and minimize soil erosion (design feature VG 5 in the FEIS). Whole tree removal would be required where new access roads cross forested areas. Rocks or other obstructions would be bladed. If rocks cannot be removed with heavy equipment, explosives may be used. While new access roads wider than 30 feet would not be expected, occasional widening beyond 30 feet may be necessary in areas where extensive blading and side cuts are required. Erosion and sediment controls would be installed as identified in the project Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP), which would be included as part of the COM Plan (design feature WA 1 in the FEIS). Following construction, all temporary access roads would be recontoured and stabilized by seeding, mulching, placement of erosion control fabric, and installing erosion control features such as water bars (design feature VG 6 in the FEIS). Where deemed appropriate by the USFS, roads near sensitive resources may not be recontoured in order to avoid inadvertent disturbance to resources. Barriers would be installed on all restored access roads located on NFS land to prevent unauthorized vehicle use (design feature RT 3 in the FEIS). Vehicle access for transmission line maintenance is expected to be rare as the poles would be made of steel. Access would be necessary approximately every 10 years for tree removal within the line clearance area. When future vehicle access is needed for maintenance of the transmission line, the existing NEPA analysis would be reviewed and the access may be approved based upon the level of proposed new disturbance and or the change in environmental conditions. There are no permanent roads proposed to be kept for maintenance access. Road construction across perennial streams would be avoided (design feature WA 13 in the FEIS). Where improvements are needed to cross ephemeral and intermittent streams, the side slopes of drainages would be reduced to a slope that would allow safe vehicle travel, and the slopes and drainage bottom would be rock armored. Once construction is complete, all drainage modifications would be recontoured and seeded based on existing site conditions (design feature WA 10 in the FEIS).
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