$410,000 OKd to Strengthen Toll Road Fence

Toll road officials approved $410,000 on Thursday to strengthen existing wildlife fences along the Eastern toll road where at least 30 animals have been killed in the seven months that the road has been open.

The funds will pay for raising mesh fencing and add barbed wire in areas where large animals have continued to find their way onto the 65-mph road. The proposed work marks the second major round of fence improvements in the road’s short history.

The road opened in October with state-approved fencing for rural areas: three feet of mesh topped with three feet of horizontal wire. After 12 animals died in the road’s first three weeks of operation, road officials approved $250,000 to raise the mesh fencing from three feet to six feet along a 6 1/2-mile northern segment.

That work was completed last month. In addition, $80,000 has been used in emergency work funds to improve fencing between Antonio and Oso parkways and in a rural area south of Santiago Canyon Road.

But troubles on the road have continued--including the death of a young male mountain lion in January--prompting criticism from environmentalists who warned from the start that the toll road would wreak havoc on local wildlife. The wildlife deaths have been used as ammunition by foes of the proposed Foothill South--the county’s final planned toll road, which would connect Oso Parkway with Interstate 5 in South County.

Killed so far on the Eastern toll road: 12 deer, 12 coyotes, five bobcats and a mountain lion. No people have been injured because of collisions with animals, toll road officials said.

The 24-mile road, which connects the Riverside Freeway with Oso Parkway, cuts through a 37,000-acre wildlife preserve. Cattle grazing along the route have contributed to the problem by knocking down some fence sections, officials said.

About 110,000 cars a day use the Eastern and its connecting toll road, the Foothill, according to toll road agency figures. Lisa Telles, a spokeswoman for the Transportation Corridor Agencies, said toll road officials will continue to monitor wildlife activity on the route. Cameras installed last month in the five wildlife undercrossings should give officials a better idea of how or if animals are using them, she said.

Improvements to the fencing, which will take place along 15 miles of the road, should start in two to four weeks. Toll road officials hope the Irvine Co., which owns much of the land the Eastern traverses, will help pay for the fencing.

But some who have seen studies on how to prevent road kill say current steps do not go far enough.

“The fence needs to be 11 feet to protect deer and mountain lion,” said Laura Cohen, executive director of the Rancho Mission Viejo Land Conservancy. “In Florida where they are trying to protect endangered panthers, they raised the fence to 11 feet and added barbed wire overhangs and reduced the deaths to zero.”

Cohen said she and others also are concerned about the fate of smaller animals--such as snakes and other reptiles--whose deaths on the road are not being tracked.

Telles said the measures approved Thursday were the result of six months of study.

“As we move forward on planning for the Foothill South and we start getting data from the wildlife crossings, we’ll continue to look at new fencing options,” she said.

Fence Failure

Toll road officials will spend $410,000 to strenghen fencing in order to keep wildlife off the Eastern toll road.

At least 30 animals killed on toll road since October.