Politics & Government

$92M San Clemente-San Juan Connector Starts Construction in January

The Orange County official running the project told the San Juan Capistrano City Council Tuesday that the project was on schedule.

The $92-million Avenida La Pata connector to create an arterial road between San Juan and San Clemente is scheduled to start construction in January of 2014, according to a county engineer heading up the project.

Orange County Public Works' Harry Persaud said all the environmental studies and design documents for the approximately 4-mile stretch of road are finished, and the OCTA is working with various agencies to get the final building permits.

The roadway will, in part, cut through the Prima Deshecha Landfill, which Persaud has said in the past is a reason why the project is so expensive; the layers of waste and soil that make up the landfill present geological challenges to road builders, he said.

Aug. 20, the agency will advertise for the first round of bids on the project, Persaud said. He also said work on the road to connect San Juan's dead-end Avenida La Pata and San Clemente's dead-end Avenida La Pata will start in the middle, so there won't be any road closures or traffic affected for about the first 24 months of the about 40-month project.

Though all of the funding isn't yet secured, administrators have rounded up most of it from a combination of state, local and federal sources, as well as a number of grants. Cost estimates have grown over the course of the design process.

Specifically, "the project would extend and widen the existing 1.8-mile portion of La Pata Avenue south of Ortega Highway, outside the City of San Juan Capistrano, roughly two miles to connect with La Pata Avenue in San Clemente at Calle Saluda," according to the OC Public Works website.


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