Bike Path Added to La Pata Extension

Engineering plans for the La Pata gap closure now include a bike path along the length of the route; the plans are set for approval Tuesday.

Previously, there had been no separate bike path along the unincorporated portion of the project. The addition of a bike path increases the cost, but engineers have narrowed the medians and implemented other cost-cutting measures in the initial designs to minimise that cost, according to a city staff report.

and lobbied in Washington, D.C. in October to close the funding gap that still exists for the $90-million project.

Consultants and city staffers have said in the past that part of the reason the roadway project is so expensive is that it runs through the Prima Deshecha Landfill, making for tricky geological engineering of the roadbed passing over unstable layers of waste underground.

The addition of the connector .

The plan is to extend and widen the existing 1.8-mile portion of La Pata Avenue from south of Ortega Highway, just outside the San Juan Capistrano boundaries, about two miles to connect with La Pata Avenue in San Clemente at Calle Saluda.

The project also includes a quarter-mile extension of Camino del Rio to the future La Pata Avenue from where it ends, just east of Camino de Los Mares. Both highways are proposed as four-lane roadways.

The extension will primarily serve future Rancho Mission Viejo residents, as well as the Talega and Forster Ranch communities. And, once constructed, the extension would allow San Juan residents to avoid driving on the congested 5 freeway and give better access to , which draws students from San Clemente.

The San Clemente Council meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday in Council Chambers, 100 Ave. Presidio.