Here is the current status of the 710 Freeway extension: PROJECT INDEFINTELY SUSPENDED.
The record of decision (ROD) has been passed, approving the construction of the freeway at the federal
and state levels. But the City of South Pasadena and other organizations have filed lawsuits to stop construction
of the freeway. These suits have at the very least delayed construction plans, but so has the faltering economy
and a dramatic shift of priorities in state and federal spending post 9/11.
Caltrans is prevented from purchasing more properties in the 710 corridor till the lawsuits are resolved.
They are also having trouble maintaining the properties they own and rent to temporary tenants, and many tenants
claim that Caltrans is a slumlord, leaving properties in an unsanitary and unsafe condition.
Caltrans has been unable to find adequate funding for planning and constructing the 710 freeway extension.
Pro-710 advocates have conceded that the likelihood of building the 710 Freeway extension is slim, and are
now pushing for a shortened extension that would run from Valley Boulevard in Alhambra to Huntington Drive in
South Pasadena. Another alternative under consideration and study is an underground tunnel.
The latest proposal is a short extension of the freeway over Valley Blvd. and the railroad tracks to
Mission Street in Alhambra. This would shunt much traffic off Valley and its overburdened intersection at
Fremont Street, and put it onto Mission to Fremont instead. Everyone likes the idea but freeway proponents,
who feel that the perceived need for a full extension would be negated by the existence of a shortened one.
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has pulled its support for the 710 Freeway
extension project pending the completion of another environmental impact study by Caltrans.
While this means that the allocation of federal funds for construction of the project is
unlikely, it does not kill the project outright. Caltrans has already requested $44 million
to conduct a new study, though it acknowledges that actually getting those funds from the
cash-strapped state is a difficult, if not unlikely, proposition.
The 710 Freeway Fighters
South Pasadena, California
