SIMI VALLEY : Caltrans Officials Reject Toll Road
State transportation officials Friday rejected a proposal by a private firm to build a toll road linking California 126 with the Simi Valley Freeway.
Caltrans officials have accepted proposals for four similar projects in other areas of the state: two in Orange County, one in San Diego County and one in Contra Costa County in the Bay Area.
Caltrans officials said if any of the projects should fall through, the Simi Valley toll road would be one of four proposals considered as a substitute.
Simi Valley officials had been interested in establishing a north-south highway through the city.
City Traffic Engineer Bill Golubics said such a road would have provided an alternate escape from the city if an earthquake or brush fire blocked the Simi Valley Freeway at either end of the city.
The toll road proposal was submitted by Ebasco Services, a subsidiary of the Enserch Corp. of Dallas. It was one of eight projects submitted to the state Department of Transportation as part of a pilot program.
The program was established by Assembly Bill 680, passed in 1989 to encourage private development of public transportation projects.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
