New Toll Road Quick to Attract Curious Drivers : Highway: Commuters wonder whether the 3.2-mile Foothill segment will save them time or be worth the money.

Though they have a free ride for now, motorists on the Foothill tollway know better than to ask for whom the toll bells, for they know, too well, it sounds for thee. And thee.

And thee.

“Hey, it’s cheap entertainment,” said Portola Hills resident Brooke Mastin, one among thousands of curious drivers who explored the newly opened 3.2-mile segment of the tollway Sunday. “At least, until they start charging.”

Exceeding initial projections by a third, about 5,400 motorists had sped along the new toll road--at no charge--by Sunday afternoon. The road opened to motorists at 5 p.m. Saturday, and will be free of tolls until Nov. 1, when motorists will be charged 50 cents.

By the year 2000, officials estimate drivers will have to pay $4.50 to use the entire $1-billion, 30-mile toll road, which will run between San Clemente and Irvine and allow motorists to bypass the traffic-clogged El Toro Y.

As they scouted the new roadway Sunday afternoon, many motorists were still weighing whether the toll would be a wise investment to avoid the risk of sitting in traffic on other arteries.

“The toll seems incredibly high,” Mastin added. “I’ve been hearing it may be as much as $4.50 to use it eventually, which would make the cost prohibitive.”

Some were wondering whether even the 3.2-mile segment, which stretches from Portola Parkway near Lake Forest to a new, 4.5-mile extension of Portola Parkway in Irvine, is going to be worth half a buck.

“This is a joke,” Julia Nagode of Lake Forest said. “Fifty cents for a two-minute ride? That’s not even one song on the stereo.”

Many others expressed similar resentment about paying to drive on a road.

“I don’t like it,” said Tom Dekker, who lives in Cota de Caza. “It’s inequitable, but that’s the way politics are these days. But we need so many freeways around here, it’s exciting to actually get one for a change.”

Others said they will have to drive the new roadway a few more times before deciding whether to include it in their daily commute.