Laguna Beach explores smaller undergrounding option after Caltrans sets high relinquishment price

Laguna Beach council members discussed options for Laguna Canyon Road after staff told them Caltrans estimated a $14.4 million cost to relinquish the highway to the city.

Council subcommittee members said Caltrans staff indicated they are unlikely to approve major changes unless the city accepts relinquishment. In response, staff proposed an alternative: keep Caltrans as the road owner and partner on an undergrounding project that focuses on distribution lines and cable lines (easier to underground) while leaving high‑voltage transmission lines in place. The package would also prioritize sidewalk and safety improvements on the canyon’s open‑space side and seek pocketed grant and utility funding. Councilmembers asked staff for a full comparative report that lists what relinquishment would allow the city to do versus what can be achieved by partnership and whether Caltrans would be open to a phased scope.

Public‑safety considerations were central: councilmembers asked staff to include fire‑safety implications of leaving transmission lines overhead versus covered‑conductor treatments and to model timelines for competing grant cycles and SCE rate cases that may unlock future funding. Staff said they will return with a report laying out the two alternatives, their costs, and realistic expectations about what Caltrans will approve.