O.C. Tollway Meeting on Tap

There will be one more big public hearing to praise or criticize plans to build a 16-mile toll highway in Orange County.

The highway is planned to link the existing Foothill/Eastern tollway with Interstate 5 at the San Diego County line. The plan is controversial because the planned route would go through a state park called the San Onofre State Beach, a well-known surfing venue.

The tollway, estimated to cost $875 million or more, would be financed with toll revenue bonds issued either through the Foothill/Eastern Transportation Corridor Agency or a new agency that would combine the Foothill/Eastern and the San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor Agency.

In February, the California Coastal Commission rejected the proposal after a day-long hearing attended by thousands of people in nearby Del Mar.

Toll road proponents appealed to the U.S. Commerce Department, which can overturn the Coastal Commission if it finds the proposal is either consistent with the objectives of the federal Coastal Zone Management Act or is needed for national security, according to a Commerce Department press release.

The department plans a Sept. 22 public hearing in the same Del Mar venue the Coastal Commission used in February, and will also extend the written comment period through Oct. 2 before a final decision is issued.

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Transportation industry
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