Council to Take Up Tollway Easement Again Tonight

City Council members tonight will once again consider granting an easement needed by builders of the San Joaquin Hills toll road to incorporate a 1.5-mile section of Newport Coast Drive into it.

It will be the third time in two months that the council has taken up the thorny issue of Newport Coast Drive, which links Irvine with Pacific Coast Highway in Newport Beach.

A group of Newport Beach residents is suing the Transportation Corridor Agencies over plans to collect tolls on Newport Coast Drive and has urged the council to delay all action until the lawsuit is resolved.

On Feb. 13, Irvine council members refused to approve county plans for construction of the Newport Coast Drive extension, intended to provide a toll-free bypass for commuters between the two cities. The rights of way requested by the toll road agency were included in the Feb. 13 vote. But Councilman Greg Smith, part of a 3-2 majority that rejected the measure, said he will approve the easement now that it has been separated from the bypass issue.

Transportation Corridor Agencies officials say the San Joaquin Hills toll road cannot be completed without the easement, but it can open without the bypass.

In a letter received by Irvine officials Monday, a toll road agency attorney warned that the city would be held liable for any costs incurred from the delay of the toll road if the easement is not granted.

Councilwoman Christina Shea, who also voted against the easement on Feb. 13, said she too will support the measure now that it excludes the bypass.

“I have consistently been a supporter of finishing the toll road,” Shea said. “To put a roadblock in their way is not appropriate at this time.”