Major Milestone for South County Mobility

After a five-year effort that included extensive public outreach and technical analysis, the Foothill/Eastern Transportation Corridor Agency (F/ETCA) Board of Directors adopted the recommendations contained in the South County Traffic Relief Effort Project Scoping and Alternatives Screening Report (South County Report). The F/ETCA Board unanimously voted to support the advancement of Alternative 22 Untolled, which extends Los Patrones Parkway from Cow Camp Road south to Avenida La Pata. As part of the Board’s action, staff was directed to collaborate with the County of Orange and develop a project development plan for the Los Patrones Parkway Untolled Extension project.

The proposed corridor would operate as an untolled county roadway, allowing motorists to travel from San Clemente to State Route 91 and beyond without stopping. The historic vote concluded many years of effort to identify solutions for a southern extension of State Route 241 Toll Road. The decision was supported by traffic analysis and input from the public. There were more than 1,600 comments received during the 94-day comment period, which included two public meetings attended by hundreds of community members.

The Board heard from more than 50 members of the public during the public comment period at the meeting, a vast majority of whom were supportive of the Los Patrones Parkway Untolled Extension.

Working with regional partners, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) three near-term South County priority projects were identified: Los Patrones Parkway Untolled Extension, completing the widening of Ortega Highway in San Juan Capistrano as well as the effort to advance carpool lane improvements on Interstate 5 from Avenida Pico to the San Diego County line.

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Widening of SR 241 Loma Segment Moves Forward

The F/ETCA Board approved staff’s recommendation for task orders to provide design and environmental planning services, in coordination with Caltrans, to widen the Loma Segment on SR 241. The project would widen SR 241 by adding one lane in each direction between State Route 133 and State Route 261. This six-mile project is included in TCA’s Capital Improvement Plan and will ensure free flow conditions are maintained on this important segment of the 241 Toll Road.

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Pacifica Building Improvements Approved

Both the F/ETCA and the San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor Agency (SJHTCA) Boards of Directors authorized staff to move forward to complete final design and constructability reviews that will allow for needed improvements to TCA’s headquarters in Irvine. As a result of significant growth in customer accounts, these improvements are primarily necessary to increase efficiency in the customer service and call center areas of the building.

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Contracts Approved

At their March 12 meeting, the SJHTCA and F/ETCA Boards of Directors voted to approve:

• The F/ETCA Board Authorized a task order with Mark Thomas & Company Inc. for an amount not to exceed $7,310,030 to provide engineering services for the SR 241 Loma Segment Widening Project.

• The F/ETCA Board also Authorized a task order with Michael Baker International, Inc. for an amount not to exceed $160,000 to provide environmental planning services for the SR 241 Loma Segment Widening Project.

• Both the SJHTCA and the F/ETCA Boards authorized a contract amendment with H. Hendy Associates for an amount not to exceed $105,805 for architectural and engineering design services needed for improvements to the TCA’s Pacifica building. They also authorized a task order with Jacobs Project Management Co. for an amount not to exceed $121,410 for construction engineering management services for the Pacifica Building project