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TOLL AGENCY CEO RESPONDS TO DAVIS LETTER, CLARIFIES MISINFORMATION
Local leaders support completion of the 241 Toll Road
IRVINE, Calif. (April 23, 2008) – Transportation Corridor Agencies CEO Tom Margro sent a letter today to Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez to correct an April 14 letter signed by Rep. Susan Davis and other members of the California Congressional delegation. Members of Congress representing the project area did not sign the Davis letter.
The April 14 letter takes out of context a statement from then Marine Corps Commandant General James Jones to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, who urged the EPA to stop consideration of two additional toll road alignments further into Cam Pendleton. General Jones expressed opposition to those alignments but reaffirmed his commitment to support one road alignment on Camp Pendleton, the alignment that is the subject of TCA’s Coastal Zone Management Act appeal.
Members of Congress and labor leaders also weighed in on the Davis letter:
"It's disappointing that Members of Congress outside of Orange County are attempting to undo more than 20 years of transportation planning based on a blatant distortion of the facts,” said Rep. John Campbell.
“Day in and day out, we suffer from the endless traffic congestion that stifles our economy, drains our gas budgets, pollutes our air, and takes us away from spending time with our families. It is time to move forward with real solutions like the Foothill South project that can provide measured traffic relief for all of Southern California by reducing congestion on the I-5,” said Rep. Gary Miller.
“While my Congressional colleagues have the right to comment as they see fit, I think it is worth highlighting that none of the members who signed the letter actually represent the communities where the 241 Foothill-South toll road will be built,” said Rep Ken Calvert. “More disturbing is the fact that these members of Congress are advocating for an alternative project that would require the use of eminent domain to condemn and destroy hundreds of homes and businesses in a community they are not elected to represent.”
"Many Members of Congress are being mislead by half truths and a disregard of the facts on the benefits of the proposed Foothill-South Toll Road,” said Richard Slauson, executive secretary to the LA/OC Building Trades Council. “After 25 years of transportation planning, community involvement and environmental research, to witness the delay of a vital infrastructure project in order to appease outside interests sends the wrong message to a region desperate for traffic relief and job growth in a sluggish economy."
The 16-mile alignment was selected after exhaustive study and a collaborative effort by local, state and federal agencies, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Federal Highway Administration, Caltrans, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton and TCA.
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