Tunnel Vision: Riverside-Orange County Commission to Halt Costly Tunnel Plan?

You might think a tunnel to middle earth would be expensive, but what about an 11.2 mile tunnel between Corona and Irvine as a joint effort between Riverside and Orange counties? It has been estimated that it would cost $8.6 billion to create such a commuter tunnel that would run through Cleveland National Forest, but officials are saying the bill is far too expensive, especially since tolls could not be collected until 10 years have passed since its construction. And while planners have discussed the financial woes, there are still environmental concerns to consider, not to mention the technical aspects of building such a new route between the two counties. The proposal was put forth to relieve traffic on the often-congested 91 freeway by creating a tunnel for cars and trucks. The estimated costs of the project have steadily climbed, which has fueled criticism of a transportation plan that would require one of the largest boring machine to have even been built to dig the 52-foot-in-diamater tunnel. And such a tunnel would inevitably require seismic protections and a whole host of safety measures. The Press-Enterprise reports:

“After crunching the numbers, planners with the Riverside County Transportation Commission and Orange County Transportation Authority are suggesting officials stop further study of the tunnel, after spending $9 million to this point. They are, however, leaving the door open to some further review. ‘This project would become a much lower priority until something changes -- technology improves so much that construction costs drastically drop, we receive a large bundle of money, etc,’ said Cathy Bechtel, project development director for the Riverside County Transportation Commission.”

It is possible that a joint Riverside County-Orange County commission could decide to put the project on hold later this month. Even if a tunnel is not built, many officials still hope that some means of relief can be built to reduce the level of traffic between the two counties. Read more here.

Comments

[Pandora Bracelet]

Thanks, I'm going to have nightmares tonight.