South Orange County Infrastructure Improvement Project (SOCTIIP) (1999-2000)

CONCUR designed and carried out a mediation process with local, state and federal agencies in support of a decision making process to provide greater transportation capacity in South Orange County, California. A toll road has been planned for several years to alleviate congestion on Interstate 5, a major commuter route in the rapidly developing South Orange County region. Federal and state agencies were deadlocked over how to implement a joint federal-state MOU binding them to a complete analysis of transportation alternatives pursuant to NEPA and Section 404 wetland protection policies.

CONCUR’s work included organizing and facilitating a joint fact-finding process for issues related to regional traffic and transportation, land use and endangered species, as a foundation to gaining agreement on a selection of alternatives for NEPA analysis, to implement the federal/state MOU. A cornerstone of this effort was hiring a neutral transportation expert to develop objective data on current and future levels of service for all major arteries serving the impacted regional road system, including mass transit alternatives. CONCUR developed a ranking system and facilitated a comprehensive ranking and screening process by participating agencies during which 22 transportation alternatives were reduced to 5. The final five alternatives were then refined to further reduce their potential environmental impact and the subject of NEPA and CEQA review to develop a preferred project alternative to meet transportation needs while minimizing environmental and community impacts.