Foothill South Opponents Cite Financial Risks

Environmentalists who oppose construction of the Foothill South tollway in South County released a study Tuesday that they said points up the financial riskiness of the project.

The study, commissioned by the Sierra Club, the Endangered Habitats League and the Laguna Greenbelt, concluded that transportation officials would have to use revenue from the existing Foothill/Eastern tollway to support construction.

The use of these funds, the report said, would reduce or eliminate a financial safety cushion bondholders require.

Lisa Telles, a spokeswoman for the Transportation Corridor Agencies, said Tuesday that officials could not respond to the report because they had not read it.

Telles also said any financial predictions on the project were premature, as the TCA had yet to determine an exact route for the toll road and complete a financing plan.

The study was conducted by Jun Onaka of Onaka Planning & Economics in La Jolla. Its release marks the first time that environmentalists have objected to the route’s construction on a financial, rather than ecological, basis. The proposed 16-mile toll road is intended to connect the Foothill/Eastern tollway to Interstate 5.

TCA officials say the route will ease congestion, while environmentalists say its construction will contribute to urban sprawl.