LAGUNA NIGUEL : Toll Road Solutions to Be Given

After almost a dozen meetings with city officials and residents in recent weeks, officials of the San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor Agency at tonight’s City Council meeting will outline their solutions to problems caused by construction of the San Joaquin Hills tollway.

Transportation officials have given the city a list of alternative construction solutions in two areas affected by toll-road work.

On Maverick Circle, residents are upset by the construction of a basin that will catch runoff from the toll road.

Homeowners say the transportation agency promised to build a sound barrier before proceeding with excavation for the basin but did not do so.

Transportation officials acknowledged that they could have communicated better with the neighborhood but said that preliminary plans had to be changed because of construction needs.

The agency said alternatives include building a grassy swale to treat runoff water and installing a berm.

The runoff basin, they said, could be relocated.

Near Westridge Lane, a large area was bulldozed for a water line, removing what residents say was a buffer between them and traffic noise.

The transportation agency said it could add a 5-foot berm or build a wall to block the sound.

Another option, they said, would be to relocate the water line.