241 Toll Road, Then and Now

Last month, the Transportation Corridor Agency ran into more road blocks, including California Attorney General Kamala Harris’ lawsuit. She charged that the Tesoro Extension isn’t an independent project but rather “a dead-end road to nowhere.” The lawsuit says the real purpose is to pave the way for a 16-mile extension linking the 241 to the I-5.

To build the project in segments violates state environmental law, and the proposed extension would make sense only if it were part of a longer route connecting with I-5 near the beach, something the California Coastal Commission has already vetoed. The TCA denies that it has any plans to extend the toll road to the beach.

However, toll road supporters spoke openly in 2011 about completing the road in piecemeal fashion, including Councilman Frank Ury’s statement from the dais during a council meeting.

The OC Register included a map in an article on 10-6-11 about building the road in segments http://www.ocregister.com/articles/road-320730-san-connect.html

“Orange County toll road advocates are proposing a new, segmented strategy that would initially extend the 241 corridor four miles to the vicinity of Ortega Highway and ultimately connect the thoroughfare to the I-5.
“As projected, the first phase would connect the 241 from its current boundary at Oso Parkway to near Ortega Highway in San Juan Capistrano. During the second phase, the road would then go from Ortega to Avenida Pico in San Clemente. The third phase would connect the 241 with the I-5.”

Also note the OCR article quotes TCA spokeswoman Lisa Telles, “What is now proposed is a plan to complete the environmental assessments, preliminary engineering and development of a finance plan to construct the initial segment while work continues on identifying an alignment for the remainder of the project to connect to I-5.”