The Foothills West Transportation Access project proposes to construct an all season gravel road that will access oil and gas resources west of the Dalton Highway along the northwestern foothills of the Brooks Range, and within the National Petroleum Reserve- Alaska (NPRA). The road would provide both exploration and development opportunities for the area as well as facilitate a more economically feasible NPRA development.

The current project is being proposed to construct a road to Umiat. This road will provide all season access that will optimize and expand oil and gas exploration and development within the Foothills area and Gubik Gas Fields vicinity, and would achieve a long term goal of all season access to the National Petroleum Reserve – Alaska in this region.

Since the summer of 2009, DOT&PF has performed and contracted for engineering and environmental studies of potential road corridors west of the Dalton Highway and North of the Brooks Range. In September, 2010, DOT&PF requested an environmental document determination from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) that initiated the formal National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) proceedings to be led by USACE. USACE issued a Notice of Intent on this project on May 20, 2011 to begin preparation of the Environmental Impact Statement for the project.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is the lead federal agency for the Foothills West Transportation Access project. USACE maintains a independent website for the Environmental Impact Statement. This website can be found at the following link: www.foothillswesteis.com