COUNTYWIDE : El Toro Y Project Bumped Up to 1993

South County commuters, who endure an agonizing squeeze through the clogged junction of the Santa Ana and San Diego freeways, can expect relief in mid-1997, officials said Monday.

Remodeling of the interchange known as the El Toro Y will begin in the fall of 1993, two years earlier than the previous schedule under a plan approved by the Orange County Transportation Commission.

The decision to accelerate the project, officials said, is an example of the tough choices they will be making in the next few months. During budget discussions at a joint meeting of the Orange County Transportation Commission and the Orange County Transit District, officials revealed that so many projects have been cleared for construction that there is not enough money to start them all during the next 12 months.

This even with revenue from Measure M, the half-cent sales tax for traffic improvements approved by voters in November.

Measure M included $55 million for the $191-million El Toro Y project. The design includes new bypass roads running parallel to the freeway, a new interchange at Bake Parkway, and an overpass linking car-pool lanes on Interstate 5 and the San Diego Freeway.

As part of the project, two car-pool lanes will be added in each direction between the Y and Alicia Parkway. A related project will extend a single car-pool lane in each direction south to Coast Highway in Dana Point.

But transportation officials warned Monday that tough choices lie ahead on other Measure M projects.

Even with Measure M revenue, transportation officials will be $95.6 million short on $245 million in transportation improvements that are ready for construction, OCTC’s Lisa Mills said.

“This summer we will be laying out the facts, so now the authority’s board members can begin to size up the tough decisions,” said Stanley T. Oftelie, OCTC’s executive director.

Under plans approved Monday, the Orange County Transit District’s budget will soar 41.8% from $184.4 million to $261.5 million, mostly because the bus agency is paying for construction of a transit way on the Santa Ana Freeway out of long-held reserves.

Transit ways are special barrier-separated lanes or ramps reserved for buses and car pools.

The Transportation Commission’s budget will drop 9.4% next year, from $6.4 million in the year ending June 30, to $5.8 million in 1991-92, mostly because of cuts in federal planning grants.

OCTC and OCTD will merge and become the new Orange County Transportation Authority in two weeks. A new, combined budget will be delivered to board members within 90 days.