Latest News: OCTA I-5/El Toro Road Interchange Project
The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and Orange County Transportation Authority’s (OCTA) proposed I-5/El Toro Road Interchange Project has been placed on temporary hiatus.
At an October 1 meeting, Caltrans and OCTA, as well as the cities of Laguna Woods, Lake Forest and Laguna Hills, failed to reach a consensus regarding a traffic congestion solution that is responsive to community input and concerns. The City of Laguna Woods has continued to express concerns with the project’s environmental process and impacts on matters including greenhouse gas emissions, air quality, aesthetics, noise, and traffic. On behalf of the Village, VMS provided extensive comments on the draft environmental document (DED). Most notably, the DED fails to adequately address the quality of life impacts of the proposed project to Laguna Woods Village. It also fails to outline suitable mitigation measures to these potential impacts.
“Although there was no consensus on a preferred option, I believe there is an interest in continuing the discussions and [working]towards a viable solution,” said Darrell Johnson, OCTA CEO, adding that OCTA agreed to “defer further action on project development work for the time being until [the cities] have had an opportunity to meet and confer with [their] counterparts on a path forward.”
View the draft environmental study that evaluated the project’s potential benefits and effects here. View presentation boards from an April 18 public hearing here. View a video of the proposed build alternatives here.
For more information about the I-5/El Toro Road Interchange Project, contact Logan Selleck, OCTA Outreach, at 714-560-5573 or LSelleck@octa.net, or visit octa.net/ElToroInterchange.
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