The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Riverside County have prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (DEIS/EIR) for the proposed improvement of a portion of California Forest Highway 224, also known as Bautista Canyon Road. The proposed action is the reconstruction of a 13.2-kilometer (km) (8.2 mile [mi]) segment of Bautista Canyon Road, including the construction of a new bridge over Bautista Canyon Creek. Three alternative alignments with varying design speeds are evaluated for the Bautista Canyon Road segment in this DEIS/EIR, along with the No Action alternative. Alternative C is considered the preferred alternative because it best meets the project objectives of safety and access, with the least number of effects to biological and cultural resources. Alternative C balances higher design with environmental impacts. Alternative C, although second highest in the estimated amount of required earthwork (235,000 cubic meters [307,400 cubic yards]) and second highest in estimated cost ($11.7 million) of the alternatives, is considered the preferred alternative because it best meets the project objectives of safety and access, and requires the second least amount of total area of new disturbance (16.6 hectares [ha] [40.0 acres] [ac]) of the alternatives. Alternative C would result in the second least amount of preliminary total upland habitat compensation required of the alternatives (13.0 ha [32.1 ac]) as well as the lowest preliminary total wetland habitat compensation (0.3 ha [0.92 ac]). Potential beneficial effects of the proposed action include, improved access efficiency for all users including fire/emergency vehicles, increased safety, reduced fugitive dust and engineering upgrades to the regional circulation system in accordance with the County of Riverside General Plan. Adverse effects include noise, biological resources, cultural resources, and visual quality.