Countywide : Ceremonies to Open Tollway on Saturday

Hailed as a boon to traffic-ensnared motorists, the Foothill tollway will play host Saturday to a series of footraces and other events at ceremonies marking its opening to traffic, which will take place Sunday at 6 a.m.

The highway is the first toll road to be built in California since 1929, when such roads were banned, and is part of a new wave of pay-as-you-drive highways in the United States, Asia and Europe.

The 3.2-mile, $48-million segment opening this weekend features a high-tech, electronic toll collection system, which will allow motorists to breeze by toll plazas without having to stop to pay fees.

Cash payment will also be available for those who don’t use the automated, prepaid billing system.

On the initial section, tolls will range from 25 to 50 cents for autos and up to $1.80 for trucks, depending on size and distance traveled. The second segment will be completed in 1995, with the entire 30-mile highway in operation after the year 2000.

About 5,000 trips per day are expected on the initial segment, which will be used almost exclusively by residents who live in communities next to the route.

When completed, the road will allow motorists traveling on Interstate 5 to bypass the congestion at the El Toro “Y.” At that time, some 170,000 daily trips are expected on the road, which will connect Irvine and San Clemente.

Although fees won’t be collected until Nov. 1 as part of get-acquainted period, Orange County Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez and Foothill Transportation Corridor Agency Chairman Scott Diehl of San Clemente will pay the first 50-cent tolls during Saturday’s festivities.

“The main thing, I think, is that I hope it runs smoothly,” Diehl, a San Clemente councilman, said during a visit to the site Wednesday. “That will do more to ensure its success than anything else.”

Vasquez added: “The most significant thing is that it’s completed. . . . The tolls are simply a way of financing new transportation facilities in California. And it couldn’t have been been built any other way.”

The initial segment enables motorists to drive from the communities of Rancho Santa Margarita, Portola Hills, Foothill Ranch and Lake Forest to Irvine without using Interstate 5.

The new road extends through Foothill Ranch from Portola Parkway near Lake Forest to Portola Parkway near Irvine. A 3.35-mile extension of Portola Parkway from the north end of the toll road to Jeffrey Road in Irvine is also opening to traffic at the same time.

Both roads were built with money from developer fees and bonds to be repaid by a combination of toll revenue and property levies on homeowners and businesses in the area.

Some residents are angry, however, that Portola Parkway extension’s only link to residential communities is via the tollway, thus eliminating the possibility of a parallel, toll-free alternative.

A missing section of Portola Parkway that would complete the street as a toll-free route is proposed but not yet planned for construction, county officials said.

Tollway to Open Opening ceremonies for California’s first modern toll road iwll be held Saturday at Alton Parkway and the Foothill tollway. The 3-2-mile segment opens to traffic Sunday. Events Half-marathon and 5K: 7:30 a.m. 10K: 8:30 a.m. 1K “fun run”: 10 a.m. Dedication ceremony: 11:30 a.m. Community open house: Alton Parkway interchange, noon to 2 p.m. (featuring “Fastalk” electronic toll collection display and alternative-fuel cars) Entry fees for half-marathon, 5K and 10K, $20, $15 for the 1K run. Entry forms and additional information available by calling (714) 557-3388, Ext. 444. Source: Transportation Corridor Agencies