Panel OKs Expansion Plan for 710

Plans to expand the truck-clogged 710 Freeway cleared a major hurdle Thursday night when an official oversight committee approved the concept of a 14-lane highway with four lanes for trucks only.

The action marks a milestone in a 2 1/2 -year, $3.9-million planning process that has stirred widespread concern among residents in the 14 cities along the roadway.

Residents have expressed fear that expanding the freeway, which now has six to eight lanes in its various stretches, will threaten their health, worsen already bad air quality and overwhelm the 710 with trucks.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority board is expected to consider the proposal in January. If the board approves, transportation officials will begin an environmental review expected to take three to four years. Construction would not begin for an additional eight to 12 years.

Nearly 100 residents attended the meeting in Carson of the Oversight Policy Committee, whose members are largely elected officials from southeastern Los Angeles County.

Residents urged the committee to adopt a community advisory panel’s report calling for health concerns to take priority in the process. They were angered when the panel recommended the report serve only as “guidance.”