City Again Says No to Toll Bypass

A split City Council has again refused to grant county officials permission to build the Newport Coast Drive extension and also balked at approving right-of-way transfers, an action that could delay the opening of the San Joaquin Hills toll road.

Representatives of the Transportation Corridor Agencies say they will take legal action if necessary to gain right of way to a 1 1/2-mile section of Newport Coast Drive that will become part of the toll road.

“We’ll be looking for alternatives, but if they don’t give it to us, we have no option but to go to court,” said Gregory C. Henk, executive vice president of design and construction for the road agency.

The Newport Coast Drive extension, planned as a toll-free bypass, is fiercely opposed by residents of the city’s Turtle Rock and University Hills neighborhoods, who have urged the council to block its construction.

“I’m not a city planner, but it doesn’t take a genius to figure out you don’t divert regional highway traffic onto local city neighborhood streets,” Turtle Rock resident David Sanner told council members Tuesday night.

The Transportation Corridor Agencies plan also would incorporate part of Newport Coast Drive into the toll road.

Attorney Jim Toledano has filed suit on behalf of a Newport Beach homeowners group to block that move, and he urged Irvine council members to wait until the lawsuit is resolved before taking action.