LAKE FOREST : Road Extension Will Open Today

A $12.5-million road extension that will give South County motorists a way around the congested street and freeway traffic in Lake Forest will open today.

After ribbon-cutting ceremonies about 10 a.m., the milelong Portola Parkway connection will open at El Toro Road and Santa Margarita Parkway.

Mission Viejo and Rancho Santa Margarita residents will be given an additional route to avoid the infamous El Toro Y freeway bottleneck, where the San Diego and Santa Ana freeways merge. Those motorists will also be able to avoid driving down El Toro Road, one of the most heavily traveled streets in the county, in order to reach the freeway.

The extension will also be a major benefit to the development of the 2,700-acre Foothill Ranch housing tract. Portola Parkway runs through the subdivision, which has 1,300 of its planned 3,900 homes completed.

“Our hope is by building new roads, we can relieve existing problems, not just mitigate new development,” said Chris Downey, vice president of the Foothill Ranch Co. “For the first time, we’ll be able to minimize traffic on the residents of Lake Forest.”

Foothill Ranch is east of Lake Forest, and company officials say the development may eventually become part of the city.

To get around the congested areas of Lake Forest, northbound motorists would take Portola Parkway north to Bake Parkway, then turn west. Reaching Irvine Boulevard, drivers would turn north again, then west on Alton Parkway to the Santa Ana Freeway.

The road extension is part of the Foothill Circulation Phasing Plan, a $240-million South County street improvement project. The project is being paid for by a consortium of housing developers and being administered by the county.

Portola Parkway is the third major road extension project to be completed under the plan this year. The others are Alicia Parkway in Mission Viejo and Oso Parkway in Rancho Santa Margarita.

Within a week of its opening, county officials expect the Portola Parkway extension to carry 36,000 vehicles per day.

County Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez will be on hand at the ribbon-cutting ceremonies today, as will several officials from Lake Forest and the Foothill Ranch Co.