By Jim Shilander
San Clemente City Councilwoman and Orange County Transit Authority board member Lori Donchak said Tuesday the OCTA added the extension of high occupancy vehicle lanes to the San Diego County line to its list of long term projects.
With freeway widening construction beginning later this year, providing an HOV lane to Avenida Pico, San Clemente had appealed to the body to look the widening to the county line. City leaders wanted to avoid a bottleneck situation in San Clemente. OCTA officials previously said such an extension was not considered a priority. Work on extending the HOV lane to Pico will begin later this year, in phases. The first will go from San Juan Capistrano at San Juan Creek road to Pacific Coast Highway, followed a few months later by work to extend the HOV lane from PCH to Vista Hermosa. The final phase, which will include the reconstruction of the Avenida Pico interchange, will begin a few months after that between Vista Hermosa and Pico.
Donchak said a recent announcement of long term plans in San Diego County to create a toll lane north to the Orange County line played a role in the decision. Donchak also credited Councilman Bob Baker with helping to put the issue on the OCTA’s radar during his tenure as mayor last year.
Donchak said the county will likely pursue state or federal funds to pay for the project, rather than using Measure M funding, which is being used for the addition of the HOV lane to Pico. Donchak said the San Diego project was set to be completed by 2050.
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