O.C. Officials Have Own Tunnel Study Plans

Orange County’s largest transportation agency on Monday declined an invitation to join a group of regional water districts seeking federal money to study a proposed 11-mile tunnel through the Santa Ana Mountains.

The proposed tunnel between Riverside and Orange counties -- still far from reality -- would carry water pipelines and traffic between the two counties.

Last month, a group of water districts invited the Orange County Transportation Authority to join with them in seeking $16 million in federal money for a feasibility study. But on Monday OCTA decided on another approach.

“My concern is that the water agencies are predetermined to build a tunnel,” OCTA board member Curt Pringle said Monday. “And our goals run cross-current to that.”

Instead, OCTA wants to form a different agency with its Riverside counterpart and an Orange County toll road agency. The board’s vote was unanimous.

The chairman of the rival group -- the Riverside Orange Corridor Authority -- formed by the water districts was unfazed by Monday’s action and predicted OCTA would come around.

“I fully expect them at some point to join our group,” said Chairman Brett R. Barbre. “I think they realize they need to be a part of this, although they may be the last ones to join.”

OCTA has not ruled out a tunnel connecting Interstate 15 in Corona to the Foothill-Eastern tollway in Irvine as an alternative to ease congestion on the Riverside Freeway, the main connector to Orange County.

Several southern Orange County cities, and the area’s biggest landowner, the Irvine Co., have criticized the tunnel idea. They say that among other things, it would dump too much traffic into southern Orange County without widening of the Santa Ana Freeway.

There has been growing support for the idea among Riverside County transportation officials as an alternative route to the 91 Freeway.

The water district group is seeking membership of Orange and Riverside county transportation agencies to help qualify for $15.8 million in federal funds to do soil and other geotechnical studies along the tunnel route. If built, the tunnel will cost at least $6 billion.

But at Monday’s OCTA meeting, board members raised questions about Barbre’s water group, noting its formation would allow an executive director’s salary, compensation for board members and reimbursement for lobbying and consulting work done last year.

But Barbre said the language shouldn’t be a sticking point.

“When you put together a joint powers agreement, you try to cover every feature that should be covered,” he said. “And just because it’s there, doesn’t mean you have to do it.”

The Riverside County Transportation Commission is expected to discuss joining the water boards Wednesday, said commission spokesman John Standiford. Many members of the commission have spoken in favor of the tunnel idea.

In other business, OCTA directors approved spending $55 million more on the $550-million project to widen the Garden Grove Freeway. The increase was mostly due to earthquake retrofit construction for 38 bridges.

The project is expected to be finished by its Nov. 30 deadline, said OCTA project manager Rick Grebner.