HOW WAS THE PROPOSED ROUTE SELECTED? —————————————

Very carefully. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Federal Highway Administration, Caltrans and Camp Pendleton were all involved in selecting the route. Dozens of options were considered and whittled down based on traffic relief each could provide, environmental impact and displacement of homes and businesses. Six toll road alternatives and two non toll road alternatives were analyzed.

On December 18, 2008, U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez sustained the California Coastal Commission’s denial of the proposed alignment for the completion of SR-241.  The federal decision is especially disappointing since the federal resource agencies had participated in the environmental review of the project and had preliminarily agreed on the preferred route.

The alignment passed through the inland portion of the San Onofre State Beach Park in order to limit the impacts on the Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton activities to the south and to avoid condemnation of homes and businesses to the north.  

The alignment avoided recreational resources and scientists concluded it would not harm the surf break at Trestles Beach.

The Secretary of Commerce suggested that a route that goes through the middle of Talega – a new neighborhood in San Clemente – taking out more than 300 homes and ending at Vista Hermosa instead of the I-5, would be a reasonable alternative to going around the city. Click for more information about this alignment.

Going forward, TCA is open to finding a new solution. The agency will work with both project supporters and opponents to find the best way to solve what most agree is a serious problem - growing traffic congestion. The agency has heard the concerns of opponents and wants to address those concerns while balancing the need for action.  

Interstate 5, July 24, 2008

Meanwhile, I-5 is still clogged and the congestion will continue to worsen. Doing nothing will not solve the problem.  Without a major effort to relieve traffic, by 2025 the freeway traffic through San Juan Capistrano and San Clemente will reach the congestion levels that exist on the 91 Freeway today.  A trip from the San Diego/Orange County line to Oso Parkway, which takes 15 minutes today, will take more than one hour.

TCA, along with millions of hard-working commuters and supporters from throughout the region, remains committed to finding a solution to our current and future traffic congestion. Too much is at stake not to address this problem.