Past Point of Protest, Tollway Starts Phase Two : Transportation: 200 officials and a few dozen dissenters attend groundbreaking for second, crucial link of South County corridor.

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA —  Over the cries of 30 sign-waving protesters, ground was broken Wednesday on the second and perhaps most important link of the Foothill Transportation Corridor in South County.

“This is a major milestone,” said Susan Withrow, a Mission Viejo City Council member who also serves on the Foothill Corridor Agency’s board of directors. “People spend an inordinate amount of time on the freeways around here to go such short distances. This will provide relief.”

The 4.3-mile section of tollway will stretch from El Toro Road to Antonio Parkway by mid-1995, providing freeway access to the fast-growing rural communities surrounding Rancho Santa Margarita, Lake Forest and Mission Viejo.

City officials hope the tollway, which will eventually run 30 miles from Irvine to San Clemente, will ease congestion on the chronically overcrowded Interstate 5 and surface streets in South County.

On Oct. 16, a 3.2-mile first link of the corridor will open between Irvine and Lake Forest.

“Five, seven, 10 years ago, planners saw what’s coming, they saw the need” to bypass Interstate 5, the sole freeway through South County, said agency spokesman Michael Stockstill. “This is an alternative for people willing to pay the toll.”

Once the second section is completed, automobiles and motorcycles will pay $1 to travel one way between Portola Parkway in Irvine and Antonio Parkway in Rancho Santa Margarita.

The groundbreaking drew about 200 city, county and business leaders from South County. County Supervisors Thomas F. Riley and Gaddi H. Vasquez, along with representatives from San Clemente, Lake Forest and Mission Viejo, spoke during the 45-minute ceremony.

The event also attracted two groups opposing the road project. Members of EarthFirst! and Citizens Against the Tollways showed up, waving signs and yelling anti-tollway slogans at people attending the ceremony.

Police were present, but there were no incidents and no arrests.

Talking from behind a mask of Irvine Co. President Donald L. Bren, EarthFirst! member Scott Haskins said developers are “building more roads so they can build more houses.”

In June, 1992, the environmental group dumped a mound of dried cow manure in the Santa Ana City Council chambers where tollway board members were holding their monthly meeting. Members have also chained themselves to the gate of the agency’s Costa Mesa office.

Representatives of the more conservative Citizens Against the Tollroads were also on hand Wednesday to “create awareness that there are alternatives to these tollways” such as light rail, said group President George Gallagher.

Opposition against the tollway is expected to continue as the project approaches San Clemente. A group called San Clementeans Against the Tollroads has been formed to challenge plans to connect the route with Interstate 5 near the city.

The agency is expected to hold its first public meetings on the San Clemente leg of the corridor by November.