MONTEREY PARK >> About 200 people heard a lively discussion Monday night on different ways to extend the 710 Freeway from Alhambra to Pasadena.
From a $5.65-billion freeway tunnel, to a light-rail line or a bus line, four panelists sounded off on the off-again, on-again project that has been debated for 56 years, possibly the longest running transportation proposal in Southern California.
“I think there is a gap. The system will work more effectively if that gap is closed,” said Duarte City Councilman and Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) board member John Fasana, speaking at a 2-hour forum at Cal State Los Angeles.
Glendale City Councilman Ara Najarian, also on the Metro board, opposed the tunnel solution. “The best choice involves a light rail. I don’t believe a tunnel will solve our problems,” he said.
The panel, sponsored by the Pasadena Area League of Women Voters and the Pat Brown Institute of Public Affairs, answered questions from moderator Raphael Sonenshine, some of which were collected from the audience.
On March 6, a 26,625-page Draft Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement concluded that constructing a 6.3-mile freeway tunnel “would have the largest increase in freeway and arterial performance” of any alternative, but carries the highest price tag. At $5.65 billion, the tunnel would cost more than twice as much as a proposed light-rail line, estimated at $2.4 billion.
Four years ago, Caltrans and the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) began studying the environmental impacts of continuing the freeway underground, instead of on the surface. Besides the tunnel, the EIR examined four other options: traffic management solutions, a dedicated bus line, a light-rail train or no-build.
So far, the “single bore” double-decker tunnel, which would consist of two northbound lanes on top of two southbound lanes in a single tunnel running beneath Alhambra, El Sereno, South Pasadena and the western part of Pasadena has gained the most traction. According to the EIR/EIS, impacts to land, air, noise and aesthetics are minor compared to the impacts from building a 7.5-mile light-rail train from East Los Angeles through Alhambra and Pasadena.
Comments on the EIR/EIS are being accepted by Caltrans and Metro through July 6. Send written comments to: Garrett Damrath, chief environmental planner, Division of Environmental Planning, California Department of Transportation, District 7, 100 S. Main St, MS-16A, Los Angeles, CA 90012. Submit comments online at: http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist07/resources/envdocs/docs/710study/draft_eir-eis/comments.php.
