Irvine/ Tustin : 2-Year Wait Predicted on Jamboree Extension

Although agreements on the extension of Jamboree Boulevard through the Tustin Marine Corps Helicopter Air Station were approved by the Irvine and Tustin city councils, as well as the Marine Corps and the Irvine Co. this week, it will still be two years before the work gets under way.

When the project connecting Jamboree with Myford Road is finished--probably by mid-1988--the six-lane thoroughfare that will bisect the base will form a “key element” in Irvine’s long-term development, said G. Brent Muchow, Irvine public works director.

“Extending Jamboree is a significant piece of the city’s circulation system,” he said. “Our general plan for the entire city depends on links like this one.”

Before work can begin however, an environmental impact report must be drawn up and the Marine Corps needs to remove a hazardous waste dump that occupies part of the right of way, Muchow said.

Although the military will be transferring the land to the Irvine Co., title to the right of way ultimately is to be ceded to Tustin, according to Michael LeBlanc, director of government relations for the Irvine Co.

Construction of the $16-million extension, expected to take six to nine months, will be handled by the two cities, which are seeking federal funds for the project.

In exchange for the right of way, the Irvine Co. has agreed to limit residential building inside the Browning Corridor, one of the principal air routes of military helicopters.

The developer also agreed to trade all or part of 39 acres next to the base to match the value of the right of way, Le Blanc said. No cash will change hands, but “what is on the table represents an equal transfer of rights,” LeBlanc said.

The Marine Corps also agreed to shift a second air route, which approaches the base from the east, away from the Northwood section of Irvine.