Caltrans Will Resubmit Plan to Widen Road

A California Department of Transportation official said Thursday that a proposal for widening and realigning Laguna Canyon Road, which was rejected by the state Coastal Commission, probably will be revised and submitted again next year.

“Maybe we can do a better job on the document next time,” said Joseph Sanchez, deputy district director of planning and public transportation for Caltrans. “No matter what happens, we feel we’re obligated to pursue the problem in the interest of safety.”

He said the narrow roadway, scene of more than 30 traffic deaths in the past 10 years, now carries 28,000 vehicles per day, with 50,000 vehicles predicted by the year 2005. Consequently, Sanchez said, “there is a demand” for changes.

Lacking in Number of Areas

In San Francisco, Liz Fuchs, coastal analyst for the commission, said the original Caltrans plan for alterations in the picturesque winding road, which links the beach city to the 405 Freeway about 13 miles inland, was lacking in a number of areas. The commission rejected the proposal on Wednesday.

“The commission’s three-page summary, which is rather complicated, basically objects to Caltrans ignoring impacts on modification of the land,” she said in a telephone interview.

“A lack of concern for the environment as relates to wildlife habitat and open space, as well as the visual impact--impairment of the view--was evident.”

The proposal, among other things, called for straightening the so-called Big Bend stretch, which twists through a narrow gap between lofty cliffs. It was estimated that 2.3 million cubic yards of earth and rock would have to be chopped from the cliffs to eliminate the curves.

This, the commission concluded, would result in permanent damage to the scenic value of the route.

“Of course, Caltrans is free to make new proposals, but so far we’ve had no indications they plan to do so,” Fuchs said.

But Sanchez said he felt that his agency has the responsibility of “doing something about the problems of safety and (traffic) capacity.”

Supplement to Document

“We’ll probably do a supplement to our document,” he said.

The commission’s approval of the plan would have allowed Caltrans to obtain about $13 million in federal improvement funds, Sanchez said.

“It may take six months or a year, and I don’t know what will be done about the Big Bend sector, but somewhere along the line we’ll be going back to the commission.”

Meanwhile, Laguna Beach Mayor Neil Fitzpatrick said Thursday that he was “pleased that the city prevailed” on the issue, not so much on the widening of the straighter stretches of the road but on the realigning of the Big Bend portion.

“The city favors a four-lane road with what I call non-traversable median barriers and some other changes,” he said.