TUSTIN : City Offers Plan on Tollway Route

The City Council voted this week to offer comments on an environmental study of the proposed Eastern Transportation Corridor, a $630-million six-lane tollway through Orange County.

Council members voted unanimously Monday nightto support construction of the western leg of the highway and to recommend a plan for its southern leg, including a direct connection from the tollway to Walnut Avenue and a continuous link from Jamboree Road to Harvard Avenue.

The Eastern Transportation Corridor would start at the Riverside Freeway in the north and split into two legs as it heads south into Irvine. The eastern leg would funnel traffic onto the Laguna and Santa Ana freeways, and the western leg would skirt the eastern limits of Tustin before ending near Jamboree Road and Irvine Center Drive.

The council also voted 4 to 1 to ask the Transportation Corridor Agencies to consider a modified alignment for the Peters Canyon portion of the roadway, which city staff said is not being actively considered now.

Mayor Charles E. Puckett said that alternative is preferable because it places the road as far east as possible, minimizing impact on the community.

Councilman Richard B. Edgar, who cast the dissenting vote, said he is opposed to the modified alignment because he believes that it would, among other things, cost more to purchase the necessary land.

The council instructed city staff members to forward their comments to the Transportation Corridor Agencies, which is gathering public comment for an environmental impact report on the proposed tollway. The agencies are expected to decide on the alignment of the road in March.