Oct. 12--Among the bills that didn't make it past the governor's desk Sunday was legislation that would have guaranteed the decades-old gap in the 710 Freeway between Alhambra and Pasadena would be not be completed by a surface freeway.

In his veto statement, Schwarzenegger called the bill, SB 545, "unnecessary."

The legislation would have paved the way for the state to pursue a 4.5 mile tunnel option to complete the freeway, and eliminated a surface option.

Schwarzenegger said the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority are the best agencies to determine the future of the 710 corridor, rather than lawmakers.

Those agencies have been leaning toward the tunnel option for the last several years. Caltrans is completing a study to determine the feasibility of its construction.

But South Pasadena officials, who have fought the 710 connection for decades because it would pass through their city, wanted the possibility of a surface route killed once and for all.

"A surface freeway will now continue to be a threat for our city for decades to come," said South Pasadena Councilman Mike Ten. "Now the talk of a tunnel will always be crowded by the threat of a surface freeway."

The tunnel has largely been considered a compromise for South Pasadena and Alhambra, which has long pushed for the freeways's completion because of heavy traffic on its streets

from commuters driving between the San Bernardino (10) Freeway and the 210.

Alhambra mayor Steven Placido called the bill a "great effort by Sen. Gil Cedillo," the bill's sponsor, to bring the cities together. But he said the governor had "very good reasons" for vetoing the bill.

"There is a process in place; he wants that to move forward with that," he said.

"The city of Alhambra wants congestion to go away... if a surface route is the last opportunity to get it done, that should be explored too," he added.

Assemblyman Anthony Portantino, D-Pasadena, also supported the veto as well. But he opposes both a surface route and a tunnel.

"If the government agencies provided the actual cost of this project and the number of cars and trucks that would go through it, people would be outraged," he said.

South Pasadena Mayor David Sifuentes challenged Portantino to come up with a better solution.

Schwarzenegger also rejected the legislation because he said it would have resulted in houses owned by Caltrans along the surface route being sold for less than fair market value, "resulting in the loss to the state of hundreds of millions of dollars."

The selling of those homes has been considered one of the main benefits of the bill.

Councilman Ten said property values in South Pasadena and Pasadena have "relatively recovered" and the state would have earned millions on the properties.

- Staff writer Dan Abendschein contributed to this report.

rebecca.kimitch@sgvn.com

(626) 962-8811, Ext. 2105

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