“We are totally opposed to it over here,” he said. “We don’t support the tunnel and the 710.”
A tunnel also could lead to more fatal collisions like the fiery Oct. 12 crash inside a freeway tunnel on the Golden State (5) Freeway and Los Angeles interchange, which killed three people, Pierce said.
“If you go into any tunnel at all, it gives you a kind of queasy feeling,” he said.
Glendale City Councilman Ara Najarian forcefully opposed the planned route that would connect the 710 and 2 freeways at Wednesday’s City Council meeting, citing the possible spike in traffic.
“This is unacceptable, scary and, for me, an unacceptable route,” he said.
Najarian, a member of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors, said the freeway connection could bring tens of thousands of new cars through La Cañada, La Crescenta and Glendale.
He called on residents to oppose the route, saying, “I think this is a critical issue to all of us in Glendale.”
But opposition from communities along the Foothill Freeway has not stopped progress on the proposal.
Caltrans will drill in 33 locations in five different zones along the proposed connector to test soil conditions, structural integrity and seismic stability, said Glendale Public Works Director Steve Zurn, who represents Glendale on the geotechnical study’s steering committee.
The zones include the 710 Freeway to the end of the San Bernardino (10) Freeway, west to the Glendale (2) Freeway and Golden State (5) Freeway interchange, the northern Alhambra area to the Foothill Freeway, the north Foothill Freeway to east Pasadena and the east San Gabriel (605) Freeway to the Irwindale area, Zurn said.
It was uncertain whether drilling would occur in Glendale.
Caltrans spokeswoman Maria Raptis said no drilling was slated for Glendale.
