Group of Cities Files Brief for Freeway Extension

A group of San Gabriel Valley cities and associations filed a friend of the court brief in federal court Friday seeking the completion of the Long Beach Freeway extension.

Lawyers for the group argued in the brief that an extensive review of the project was conducted and that South Pasadena’s proposed alternative was rejected on it merits.

The coalition includes the cities of Alhambra, San Gabriel, Rosemead, Monterey Park, Duarte and San Marino.

U.S. District Judge Dean Pregerson is scheduled to decided at a July hearing whether to grant a preliminary injunction barring construction of the freeway extension and the purchase of homes in its path pending a trial.

Last week, he issued a tentative ruling saying that he intends to grant the injunction to South Pasadena and a coalition of preservation groups that sued the U.S. Department of Transportation and Caltrans to block the extension.

Pregerson wrote that transportation officials failed to adequately consider South Pasadena’s alternative, which calls for improvements to help traffic flow on surface streets and completion of the Pasadena Blue Line.