North County

The House of Representatives has approved a federal bill that includes $12 million to help widen traffic-clogged California 78 from four to six lanes.

Approval of the bill on a 401-to-20 vote Wednesday moves the long-awaited North County highway project a step closer to construction.

The Senate is expected to vote on a companion highway measure Wednesday. If approved, the matter then would go to a House-Senate conference committee, where differences in the two bills can be hammered out.

A spokesman for Rep. Ron Packard (R-Carlsbad), the key backer of funds for California 78, said the lopsided House vote would serve as a signal to President Reagan, who has called the highway bill “a budget buster” and has targeted it for veto.

“The congressman is real optimistic about this bill,” Packard spokesman Richard Rice said.

During the conference committee discussions, Packard plans to ask that the legislation be altered so the federal government pays 50% of the estimated $30-million price tag to widen California 78 for a 16.5-mile stretch between Oceanside and Escondido, Rice said.

That would increase the federal share to $15 million, easing some of the pressure on the state and local governments to come up with the rest of the funding, he said.

Once a relatively uncrowded route, California 78 has in recent years become one of North County’s busiest freeways. With that in mind, Packard began a push for the federal funds more than a year ago. In October, legislation that included money for the highway project was derailed when House and Senate negotiators failed to reach an agreement on the issue.