Endangered Species Consideration Could Delay Ortega Highway Work

The possibility that several species of plants, birds or animals found in habitat along a stretch of Ortega Highway will be added to the federal list of endangered species could stall $2.8 million in road improvements scheduled to begin in 1990.

Deborah Harmon, an environmental planner for the California Department of Transportation, said that four birds and three plants found along Ortega east of San Juan Capistrano have been listed as “candidates” for the endangered list. “

Commission’s Request

The Orange County Transportation Commission this week asked Caltrans to address the problem and the potential for delay on highway work in its environmental impact report. Construction on Ortega Highway is to include widening the road to four lanes from the east San Juan Capistrano city limits to La Pata Avenue, then adding eight-foot-wide paved shoulders on both sides of the highway for the next 3 1/2 miles eastward, to about Cristianitos Road.

“The paved shoulders will provide safe space for vehicles to turn off in emergencies or to pull over so that others may pass safely,” said Clarence Ohara, Caltrans engineer in charge of the Ortega project.

But state and federal laws protect the habitat of any creature or plant that has been listed as endangered. Harmon said the birds now listed as candidates for endangered status include the tricolored blackbird, Swainson’s hawk, the ferruginous hawk and the coastal black-tailed gnatcatcher. The plants are Chorivanthe staticoides , Dudleya multicaulis and Dudleya viscida .

At the same commission meeting this week, Caltrans officials were reminded that unless the state Coastal Commission approves their plans for widening and straightening curves on Laguna Canyon Road by December, the $11 million allocated for the work may be spent on other projects.

The original plans, submitted last December, were rejected by the Coastal Commission, largely because of environmental concerns about the proposed removal of 2.3-million cubic yards of earth to straighten the dangerous curve in the so-called “Big Bend” stretch.

“We have a lot of work to do in plan revising before this coming December,” said Joseph Sanchez, a deputy director for Caltrans. “I don’t know if we’ll resolve (everything) by then, but we are reevaluating modified plans to move 400,000 fewer cubic yards of earth, to reduce the amount of affected acreage and to include additional drainage and slope improvements.”

Priority Cited

Widening and straightening of Laguna Canyon Road has a high priority because about 28,000 drivers a day use the road, and it has been the scene of more than 30 traffic deaths in the last 10 years.

If the Coastal Commission fails to approve Caltrans’ plans, the $11-million funding, scheduled to begin in December, may be spent instead for improvements on the Orange Freeway or to pay part of the $86-million cost of reconstructing the interchange of the Costa Mesa and Santa Ana freeways, said Stanley T. Oftelie, executive director of the Orange County Transportation Commission.