The U.S. Department of Commerce will hold a public hearing on a proposed toll road that would cut through a popular California state park and pass near a world-class surf break.
The California Coastal Commission voted against the 16-mile toll road in February, but the local Transportation Corridor Agencies appealed the decision to the Commerce Department, which oversees the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The hearing will be held July 24 or July 25 at the University of California, Irvine's Donald Bren Center, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.
Opponents say the road would destroy a large area of environmentally sensitive habitat and ruin the esthetics of http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=647, the state's fifth-most popular state parks and home to the renowned Trestles surf break.
Backers of the $875 million project counter that it would alleviate congestion on Interstate 5 between Orange County and San Diego and complete Orange County's network of toll roads.
