3 New Highways Are Designated Toll Roads

The Orange County’s Transportation Corridor Agencies voted Thursday to make three new south county highways toll roads.

The votes by the TCA directors will have to be repeated again later this year, when a specific financing plan, including the sale of bonds to be repaid with toll revenue, is completed, officials said.

Although the TCA had previously indicated a desire to create the planned Eastern, Foothill and San Joaquin Hills turnpikes, Thursday’s vote was needed to satisfy state law, which requires the TCA to determine that there isn’t enough money to build the highways without tolls.

The votes by board members of the Eastern and Foothill Transportation Corridor Agency and the San Joaquin Hills Tranportation Corridor Agency followed receipt of a financial study indicating that even under the best possible circumstances, money from state, county and federal sources will fall 35.5% short of reaching the $1.3-billion estimated cost of building the three highways.

In fact, under federal law, the projects are eligible for 35% federal matching funds only if they are built as toll roads.

TCA Executive Director John Meyer said the financial study by Arthur Young & Co. was “pretty conclusive. . . . They did a good job of examining every funding mechanism that is currently on the horizon. The governor could change his mind and support raising the state gasoline tax, but I don’t see that happening. If he does, we’ll revisit this (toll) issue.”

About 49% of the construction cost is scheduled to come from developer fees. The California Transportation Commission recently targeted about $35 million for building an interchange between Interstate 5 and the San Joaquin Hills project.