Members of Leadership Council of Justice and Accountability, Fresno Building Healthy Communities as well as community members gathered outside Friends of Calwa headquarters to announce the lawsuit against CalTrans. Photo by Edward Smith.

South Fresno community groups in collaboration with Stanford Law Clinic today announced a lawsuit against a proposed interchange that they say will bring more industrial development and more pollution to the area.

In order to improve what CalTrans says are freeway onramps that don’t meet current design standards, the agency will build two interchanges at North and American avenues along Highway 99, an area that has experienced massive amounts of industrial development in the past few years.

The project would improve traffic operations and improve access for businesses in the surrounding area.

The final environmental impact report on the $146 million project was released in January, stating that in the short-term, air quality would worsen without significant improvements to those highway onramps.

In the same report, the agency notes in the proposed plan that by 2046, CO2 emissions at the American Avenue interchange would be 3,414 tons higher than the 2019 baseline compared to 545 tons should the project not be done.

For North Avenue, CO2 emissions would be 4,281 tons higher than the 2019 baseline compared to 2,121 tons of CO2 without the project.

CalTrans forecasts that traffic at both interchanges will more than double from 2019 counts by 2046.

“This expansion project will only cause more pollution from our freeways and heavy trucks,” said Edith Rico, project director with Fresno Building Healthy Communities.

Ashley Werner, directing attorney for Leadership Council for Justice and Accountability said while there is a need for maintenance, the proposed plan is designed to accommodate an expanding industrial presence in the area rather than to fix potholes and reroute traffic.

At the same time, the City of Fresno is conducting a truck route study as part of its South Central Specific Plan to see how mandated paths can create efficiencies and keep haulers out of neighborhoods.

Those route studies are not yet completed.

“CalTrans should be waiting until these studies are completed to understand the outcomes and how that affects where we should be developing infrastructure for truck routes,” Werner said.

Stephanie Safdi, supervising attorney for the Stanford Law Clinic said they routinely do lawsuits under the California Environmental Quality Act — known as CEQA.

“These claims are our bread and butter,” Safdi said.

The case is being lead by two supervising attorneys and two students with the law clinic.

Representatives with CalTrans did not respond to requests for comment by press time.

The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California.