The Transportation Corridor Agencies (TCA) is renewing the fight to build a new toll road in Orange County near San Clemente.
The TCA, which is in charge of overseeing construction and operating Orange County's 67-mile public toll road system, has been trying since 1981 to gain federal approval to extend the 241 Toll Road.
Approval was ultimately denied after the California Coastal Commission refused to grant a coastal consistency certification for the project. State officials and many residents felt there would be a negative impact from the toll road project to nearby coastal lands and state parks.
After what seemed like the end of the line for the expansion, TCA officials have now set up a new website to try and rally new public support for the project.
Relievetraffic.org features a dramatic YouTube video report about a 2010 grenade scare incident on the 5 Freeway that shut traffic down in both directions for four hours. The video suggests drivers should be extremely concerned about the lack of alternate roads in case of a real emergency on that junction of the 5 freeway.
The campaign also suggests that extending the 241 will ease traffic on Interstate 5 by creating an alternative route for the hundreds of thousands of motorists who travel between San Diego, Orange and Los Angeles counties on a daily basis.
