OCTA Moves in the Right Direction : In Releasing Measure M Funds, the Agency Keeps Important Projects on Track

The Orange County Transportation Authority was right to vote this week to move ahead with projects authorized more than a year ago when voters approved Measure M. The measure added a half-cent to the county’s sales tax especially for highway, street, transit and other vital transportation projects. But spending has been held up by a series of lawsuits aimed at overturning the measure.

By voting to release the $100-million-and-counting that is accumulating, the 11-member Transportation Authority kept on track such major projects as the upgrading of Beach Boulevard to “super-street” status, design work for expansion of the Riverside Freeway and improvement of the troublesome El Toro “Y” in south Orange County. The largest portion of funds, however, will go toward buying rights-of-way for the crucial widening of the Santa Ana Freeway, already underway in Irvine and Santa Ana. In addition, $35.7 million is earmarked for cities for various local projects, and another $37.3 million for several rail projects.

There still is one more legal hurdle for Measure M, which has survived four lower-court decisions: Opponents are expected to appeal the latest appellate court decision to the state Supreme Court, which must decide by July 27 whether to review the case. If it does, it could be more than a year before the legal issues are finally decided.

But even though Measure M has been in legal limbo, at no point has any judge enjoined the Transportation Authority from spending the money that has been accumulating pending the outcome of the lawsuits. That means that, once the funds are spent, they probably would not have to be repaid even if the Supreme Court overturns Measure M.

Until this week, however, the agency has been banking sales tax revenue at the rate of $10 million a month hoping that the legal obstacles would be removed. Meanwhile, it was able to keep certain projects moving by borrowing against Measure M funds while waiting for the last card to be played in the courts.

That strategy has run its course. The Transportation Authority has been faced with the difficult decision of whether to delay important projects or release Measure M money to pay for them. It took the gutsy course by authorizing spending. Releasing the funds should also give a much-needed boost to the county’s sagging economy by providing jobs.

Orange County should not have to wait any longer for projects needed to relieve traffic congestion.