WHY DO WE NEED TO COMPLETE THE 241? ———————————————

Completing the 241 Toll Road will relieve congestion in one of the most important traffic corridors in California. Commuting traffic throughout Southern California is already gridlocked much of the time. Weekend traffic is even worse, with no major improvements on the horizon and no state funds available to address the problem.

California is the 11th largest economy in the world. Traffic from Mexico is growing, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are generating enormous regional traffic; and the number of weekend recreational drivers heading to Orange and San Diego County beaches and other attractions continues to increase. So how does traffic get back and forth from Orange and San Diego Counties? There is only one direct way — Interstate 5.

Extending the 241 will ease traffic on Interstate 5 by creating an alternative route for the hundreds of thousands of motorists a day who travel between San Diego, Orange and Los Angeles Counties. Without the toll road, travel from the San Diego/Orange County border to Mission Viejo will take one hour in 2025. With the toll road constructed, the same drive on Interstate 5 will take 25 minutes and only 16 minutes on the toll road. The 241 is also expected to take pressure off Interstate 15, currently used by many driving from eastern Orange County into San Diego County. The 241 Toll Road will carry thousands of vehicles that would otherwise be clogging neighborhood streets and Interstate 5.

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Interstate 5 Critical to Regional Mobility and Goods Movement
A recent report ranked the Los Angeles area first and the San Diego area 13th in the nation for travel time delay (2007 Annual Urban Mobility Report, Texas Transportation Institute). In 2006 Orange and San Diego counties alone accounted for 24 percent of all daily vehicle-hours of delay and 28 percent of all congested miles on California urban freeways (2006 State Highway Congestion Monitoring Program, Caltrans). Moreover, between 1999 and 2006, vehicle miles travelled in Orange County increased 13 percent and in San Diego County 11 percent (2006 Annual Average Daily Traffic, Caltrans). This congestion delay cost approximately $710 per traveler annually in 2005 (2007 Annual Urban Mobility Report, Texas Transportation Institute).

I-5 is a critical Interstate route connecting the largest port facilities for goods imported to the U.S. (Los Angeles/Long Beach) to east-west Interstates to supply goods by truck throughout the nation. On average, over 10,000 trucks use I-5 at the San Diego-Orange County line on a daily basis (2006 Annual Average Daily Truck Traffic on the California State Highway System, Caltrans). If nothing is done to alleviate traffic conditions in the area the situation will continue to deteriorate.

In September 2007, the U.S. Department of Transportation selected I-5 as one of six Interstate routes nationwide to participate in a new Federal initiative to develop multi-state corridors to help reduce congestion. This Federal designation as a Corridor of the Future recognizes the importance to the nation of the entire I-5 corridor from Mexico to Canada, and focuses attention and resources on ensuring the reliability of the corridor as a nationally significant element of our transportation system.

- May 23, 2008 letter from the Federal Highway Administration to the Department of Commerce

241 Toll Road will Accomodate Already Approved Growth
“The growth is coming, regardless. This project will play a key role in achieving future mobility for southern Orange County.”

“We need additional capacity in this corridor. I think we need that capacity to keep our economy strong, to clean our air, and to reduce greenhouse gas emission, and to maintain our quality of life.”

- Caltrans Director Will Kempton, California Coastal Commission hearing Feb. 6, 2008

241 Toll Road Essential to Regional Air Quality Compliance
“The TCA Foothill Transportation Corridor-South (FTC-S) project has been a part of the SCAG Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) and designated as a Transportation Control Measure (TCM) since 1991. As a committed Transportation Control Measure identified in the South Coast Ozone State Implementation Plan (SIP) and part of the conforming SCAG RTP/RTIP, FTC-S must be implemented or another TCM project must be substituted to achieve equivalent emission reductions.”

- March 2, 2008 letter from Southern California Association of Governments Executive Director Hasan Ikhrata

241 Toll Road to Handle Regional Traffic
Traffic studies show few trips on the 241 will be short, local trips

• On the 241 segment just north of I-5, less than 1% of the Foothill South will traffic begin or end their trip in San Clemente.
• On the 241 segment just south of Ortega Highway, 7% of the Foothill South traffic will begin or end their trip in San Clemente.
• On the 241 segment just north of Ortega Highway, 3% of the Foothill South traffic will begin or end their trip in San Clemente.

- Traffic Technical Report Section 7.5….by Austin-Foust (December 2003)