Toll road fight is likely to continue

Despite the setback delivered last week by the California Coastal Commission, Orange County’s toll road agency indicated Thursday that it would not give up on a proposed toll road through San Onofre State Beach.

At a committee meeting, board member Jerry Amante acknowledged that the agency was in a “contentious fight” but was committed to finishing the road because it was to be part of a “vital infrastructure.”

Thursday marked the first time the agency’s board members met since the Coastal Commission denied its plans at a raucous meeting in Del Mar. With more than 3,500 people in attendance, the meeting was the largest in the commission’s history.

Although the toll road agency has appealed the Coastal Commission’s decision to the U.S. Department of Commerce, it could take a year for a decision.

Estimated to cost at least $875 million to build, the Foothill South would have run 16 miles from Oso Parkway in Rancho Santa Margarita to Interstate 5 at Basilone Road south of San Clemente.