Road widening begins, finally

Barbara Diamond

Dignitaries found it almost as difficult to dig with the

ceremonial gold spades in Laguna Canyon on Tuesday as it had been to

get the realignment and widening of Laguna Canyon Road off the

drawing board.

The dirt was rock hard, but it took an unprecedented collaboration

and more than 10 years of dedicated effort to overcome bumps in the

improvement project for what Laguna Beach calls Laguna Canyon Road,

but others know as State Highway 133.

A partnership of environmentalists, engineering and design

consultants, planners, the county, the cities of Irvine and Laguna

Beach, Caltrans, the Orange County Transportation Authority and the

Irvine Co. participated in planning the project. All were represented

at the groundbreaking ceremony held at the James Dilley Preserve.

Goodwill permeated the ceremony. There was more patting others on

the back than thumping one’s own chest.

“This is a true demonstration of a successful partnership,” said

Cindy Quan, Caltrans District 12 director.

The groundbreaking was one of the first functions undertaken by

5th District Supervisor Tom Wilson in his new role as board chair.

“Everyone here who had a hand in this project should be proud,”

Wilson said. “It will serve as a model for other projects that

follow.”

“I am a latecomer to the project,” he added. “I have only worked

on it for six years.”

Those years included the county’s recovery from bankruptcy, which

certainly delayed the road project.

“I wanted it done on my watch,” Wilson said.

Under the current design, 3.9 miles of the existing road will be

realigned, 1.5 million cubic yards of dirt will be removed and 38,000

tons of asphalt will be laid. The roadbed will be moved westward of

the natural lakes in the canyon, which is designed to eliminate

flooding and pollution; and will be widened to two travel lanes with

a bicycle lane in each direction.

The lanes will be separated in some locations by elevation, as

well as by medians landscaped with native plants, to improve overall

safety and aesthetics.

Utility lines will be placed underground along the road segment in

Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, with highway access to the park about

one mile north of San Joaquin Hills Toll Road.

Four water-quality basins will capture runoff. Four trail and

wildlife crossings will be constructed to promote wildlife access

between open space east and west of the road. Wetlands will be

restored.

The project has been one of highest priorities for Vicki L.

Wilson, director of the county Public Facilities and Resources

Department.

“It will benefit all Orange County residents, but particularly the

residents of Laguna Beach, Irvine, Laguna Woods and Aliso Viejo,”

said Wilson, a 15-year resident of Laguna Beach.

Funding for the project will come from the state Highway Operation

and Protection Program, Measure M, gas taxes, the Coastal Area Road

Improvements and Traffic Signal Program and the Transportation

Enhancement Activities.

The Irvine Co. got the ball rolling for the project during the

development of plans for Laguna Laurel.

“Some of the environmental information for the project came from

Laguna Laurel studies done by the Irvine Co. from 1985 to 1988,” said

Lyndon Calerdine, formerly with the engineering and design company

LSA. “That included moving the road away from the lakes.”

When development of Laguna Laurel was sandbagged by the Walk in

the Canyon in 1989 to demonstrate public opposition, late 5th

District Supervisor Tom Riley got the notion to take advantage of

focused public opinion.

He organized the Laguna Canyon Road Consensus Committee in 1992,

comprised of Laguna’s leading environmentalists, representatives of

civic groups and the city.

The committee was given the mission of devising a project that

would still the opposition of canyon preservationists and make the

road safer for motorists.

The idea, as the committee’s name implies, was to reach a

consensus on a road design with which everyone could live.

All but three of the committee members agreed that the road should

be moved away from the two natural lakes, one of which is divided by

the road, creating the appearance of three lakes.

Former Mayors Bob Gentry and Lida Lenney opposed moving the road,

based on promises made to residents that “What You See Is What You

Get” during the campaign to pass a bond issue to buy Laguna Laurel

from the Irvine Co.

To get a consensus, the committee voted in January of 1993 to

recommend that the county proceed with an environmental impact report

that evaluated two proposals.

Alternative 11B proposed that the road be moved, as preferred by a

majority that included Laguna Greenbelt Inc. President Elizabeth

Brown. Alternative 4 kept the road in the same location, but raised

it above flood level, as preferred by Lenney and Gentry.

Village Laguna representative Johanna Felder abstained from the

vote because her group had not voted on the recommendation.

Meetings were held behind closed doors, a violation of the state

Brown Act, which stipulates that public business must be conducted in

public. Meetings of an advisory committee to an elected official fall

under the Brown Act.

Environmental activist Elizabeth Leeds filed suit against the

committee for the violation and won. However, the court’s decision

was rendered after the committee had completed its business and had

made its recommendations.

The county agreed to create the Laguna Canyon Road Oversight

Committee to continue public participation.

Council members Wayne Peterson and Ann Christoph were the city’s

representatives. Wayne Baglin replaced Christoph. Kathleen Blackburn

later served on the committee. Baglin and Cheryl Kinsman are the

current representatives.

Jack Camp, who has served on the committee since its inception in

1994, attended the groundbreaking ceremony.

Other speakers were Irvine Mayor Larry Agran and Laguna Beach

Mayor Toni Iseman.

“I haven’t seen this much press in Laguna Canyon since a

hippopotamus [named Bubbles] escaped from Lion Country Safari,”

Iseman said. “I invite you all to park at ACT V, take our free summer

shuttle bus to town and enjoy our Festivals, our beautiful ocean and

wonderful restaurants.”

The completed realignment of the road is expected to make the trip

to Laguna easier and safer without compromising the treasured natural

beauty of the canyon.