Veto Override Starts Paving the Way to Widen California 78

To the delight of local lawmakers, plans to widen traffic-clogged California 78 got the green light Thursday as the U.S. Senate voted to override President Reagan’s veto of a massive highway funding bill containing $15 million for the North County project.

The Senate’s narrow 67-33 vote means federal funds will be available this year to begin work on California 78, a stretch of blacktop long considered one of San Diego County’s busiest freeways. A two-thirds vote is needed to override a veto.

Plans call for widening the east-west highway from four to six lanes along a 17-mile section meandering from Oceanside to Escondido, at an estimated cost of more than $30 million. Officials anticipate that design work will take most of this year, with construction expected to begin by early 1988.

“I think this is a great day for North County motorists,” said Rep. Ron Packard (R-Carlsbad), the architect of the effort to get federal funding for California 78. “This is certainly a major, major step forward. I don’t think this project would have moved without this seed money.”

Other local officials echoed Packard, saying they were pleased that Congress acted to fund the long-awaited highway widening project.

“I think it’s terrific,” said Oceanside Councilwoman Lucy Chavez. “This is long overdue.”

Some Mixed Emotions

Some elected officials, however, said the project would only spur growth, doing little to ease the congested traffic situation.

“I have mixed emotions,” said Escondido Councilman Jerry Harmon, a devout slow-growth advocate. “Every time we widen a freeway and put a lane on, the problem only seems to get worse. I suspect that as soon as this is widened, we’ll be back spending money to add still another lane. And those spending the money will be the existing residents for the benefit of people speculating in land.”

California 78, once a relatively uncrowded route, has in recent years become North County’s busiest freeway. The number of cars using the highway has skyrocketed as hospitals, shopping centers and subdivisions sprouted along the route.

Officials expect it will only get worse. The number of cars using the highway currently peaks at about 80,000 on a typical weekday, but they expect that number to climb to more than 112,000 by 2005. The road is currently designed to handle 65,000 cars a day at most.

Accidents Increase

As traffic volume has increased in recent years, the number of accidents also has jumped, rising 30% in 1985 compared to an 8% increase for all of North County.

With that in mind, Packard began a push for federal funds in late 1985. Under his plan, California 78 was declared a “demonstration project,” making it eligible for the federal money.

After winding its way through numerous committees, the freeway project ultimately stalled late last year when a federal highway finance bill containing money for California 78 failed to clear a congressional conference committee.

Packard reintroduced the legislation this year as part of an $88-billion highway financing package that included a provision for raising the speed limit to 65 m.p.h.

The massive funding measure, approved by both the House and Senate by wide margins, was vetoed by Reagan a week ago. The President termed the bill “a budget buster” because of its huge price tag, and he targeted demonstration projects like California 78 as examples of “pork-barrel politics.” After considerable political maneuvering, the President’s veto was overridden this week.

While Congress battled over the bill, state and local officials began formulating plans to come up with the remaining money needed to undertake the California 78 project.

Tentative plans call for the state to pay half of the remaining $15 million of the project’s cost, while San Diego County and the cities of Escondido, San Marcos, Vista, Oceanside and Carlsbad would come up with the rest.