TCA Board OKs First 4 Miles of Controversial 241 Toll Road Extension
The Foothill/Eastern Transportation Corridor Agency board gave staff the go-ahead to start revising studies and obtaining approvals to finish the first four miles of the 241 extension, maybe by 2014.
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The first four miles of the 241 Tollway extension are set to move ahead after Thursday’s vote by the board overseeing the Foothill/Eastern Transportation Corridor.
If all goes according to TCA staffers’ plans, the construction could be finished by March 2014. Thursday's vote approved the first steps, including obtaining approvals from government agencies and performing initial studies.
The first four-mile segment would end somewhere in the vicinity of Ortega Highway, though further studies and engineering would have to determine what street north of the highway the segment would feed onto.
Related: Read all the details about the planned route, engineering and proposed financing.
Board member and San Juan Capistrano Mayor Sam Allevato said he and his colleagues on the San Juan City Council were in favor of the new, segmented approach with some caveats.
Because the proposed segment would dump traffic onto San Juan arterials, Allevato said he wanted three planned traffic mitigation projects finished around the same time as the 241 segment. These include the Avenida La Pata gap closure that would link up San Clemente and San Juan, a fully-funded I-5/Ortega interchange improvement and a widening of a one-mile, two-lane choke point on Ortega at the San Juan border.
Related: Read about San Juan Capistrano’s reaction to the new segmented plan for the 241 extension here.
The vote in favor of moving forward with the plan had one dissenter, Beth Krom of Irvine City Council. She worried traffic studies weren’t accurately predicting potential toll revenue, the final alignment wasn’t set and that floating more bonds would put the agency in a precarious financial position.
A representative from the Southern California Association of Governments, Philip Law, spoke in favor of the project, citing economic benefits and cleaner air because vehicles would have to spend less time on the road.
Reed Royalty, president of the Orange County Taxpayers Association, also said his organization was in favor of the project, as it had been since the late 1980s.
“Toll roads are a prodigious gift to taxpayers,” he said. “They are at the top in terms of utility to taxpayers; if we don’t use them, we don’t pay for them. They enable free-flowing traffic which keeps the air clean and creates wealth.”
John Whitman from the South Orange County Regional Chamber of Commerce also spoke in support of the project.
Related: Read coverage of South OC Chamber’s announcement of support for the 241 extension.
Perennial opponents of the 241, the Surfrider Foundation and the Natural Resources Defense Council, had representatives speak who were opposed to the project, saying it was illegal. Their argument was that the segmented approach was to push the project forward, creating momentum to cut through San Onofre State Beach park, an alignment shot down by the California Coastal Commission in 2008.
“In fact, the only purpose of this entire exercise is to push the project so far down the road that all other options are closed,” said Damon Nagami, a staff attorney with the NRDC.
Surfrider’s Mark Raucher echoed Nagami’s comments.
“Clearly this agency is trying to ram this project through at any cost,” he said.
Squonk
4:17 pm on Thursday, October 13, 2011
"...the only purpose of this entire exercise is to push the project so far down the road that all other options are closed,” said Damon Nagami, a staff attorney with the NRDC...
What other options? Sorry Nagami, but "no" is not an option. Glad to see TCA is moving forward. Four miles closer to completion.
John Lusk
8:06 pm on Thursday, October 13, 2011
It's ridiculous to have a major arterial like the 241 that stops at the half way point. I say "get 'er done"
Joe
10:46 am on Friday, October 14, 2011
The folks in San Juan are gonna be so bummed when they realize this road is never going past Ortega.
pjd
11:45 am on Friday, October 14, 2011
Members of TCA, city councils and other agencies pushing through the 21 should reveal their salaries and all perks from taxpayers and developers, also perhaps future job opportunities. It is my opinion the entire 241 project is suspect. The final length of the 241 dumps out onto the 5 at Camp Pendleton. Then they will say there is a bottleneck (surprise!) and they have to invade the Base and the state park. Who believes they won't? Who believes developers are not in it to line their own pockets and power? The toll road should be stopped before it horribly clogs the Ortega.
mariabrophy
2:29 pm on Friday, October 14, 2011
No on the toll road, even a mile of it. Please, toll road trolls, go away! You're not wanted here!
Pete van Nuys
5:47 am on Monday, October 17, 2011
Fact: TCA's overpriced roads-- all of them-- are the least used roads in So.OC, per OCTA traffic volume reports. Their model is dumb, dumb, dumb. Financially they're good as broke; though they sit on $-millions of "fees" extorted from developers and businesses it's still not enough to pay off their bonds. Both 73 and 241 are headed toward default, avoided only through shell games and shenannigans so far. We tax payers will be stuck with the debt when they default, but Margrove et. al. will retire with their fat pensions. ABOLISH TCA!
Mr Salty
7:26 am on Monday, October 17, 2011
As usual Pete is 100% correct.
Abolish TCA TODAY!
Mike Thompson
4:17 pm on Thursday, October 20, 2011
There will be violence if this goes through. Do you really think we will allow Trestles, one of the best surf spots on earth to possibly be destroyed for any reason, but especially for 'creating wealth'? Politicians have already sold out and destroyed California for greed. You're NOT taking Trestles away from us, or any other parts of our ocean. Yes, I'm serious, yes I am crazy, and yes I would gladly go to prison to protect Trestles, in a heartbeat. And I am not the only one.
Frank Chlarson
3:57 pm on Sunday, October 23, 2011
The developers and land owners are in favor, followed by the construction companies who see jobs, of course, but also profits – large profits.
They want to make a living and provide jobs. There is nothing wrong with that. But, this this is not the place or the way to do it. We must save what is left of our fragile and diminishing California Coast. ONCE OUR ENVIRONMENT IS GONE IT CANNOT BE BROUGHT BACK! We will no longer sacrifice our – or our children’s future – to short-sighted corporate profits. Those days are over here.
Let's try redevelopment of our already blighted areas before we mindlessly pave over our natural beauty in pursuit of the almighty buck. Where does it end?!!!
Stop this toll-road!