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California Coastal Commission Rejects Toll Road

Supporters of a controversial toll road project say they will appeal Wednesday’s decision by the California Coastal Commission to build the road through San Onofre State Beach Park. KPBS Reporter Ed

California Coastal Commission Rejects Toll Road

Supporters of a controversial toll road project say they will appeal Wednesday’s decision by the California Coastal Commission to build the road through San Onofre State Beach Park.  KPBS Reporter Ed Joyce has more.

Coastal Commissioners decided that the project doesn't meet federal and state legal requirements. But Toll road officials say they'll file an appeal next week with the U.S. Secretary of Commerce. They want to keep the $875 million project alive.

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Lance MacLean is the chairman of the Foothill Eastern Transportation Corridor Agency. He says the company believes the project provides traffic relief in an environmentally sound way. 

Opponents and commission staffers say the road would wipe out about a dozen endangered or threatened coastal species, decimate an ancient Indian burial ground and block sediment that creates world-class waves at Trestles.  Supporters say the road will relieve traffic on a stretch of Interstate-5.

Ed Joyce, KPBS News.