Orange County Toll Road Opens; Hailed as ‘Critical Link’

Capping years of controversy that included environmentalists chaining themselves to bulldozers in protest, transportation officials Wednesday opened the gates to Orange County’s newest toll road--the first segment of the San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor.

“This is a monumental effort and a critical link in Orange County’s transportation future,” county Supervisor Marian Bergeson told the 600 dignitaries and officials gathered at the tollway’s La Paz Road entrance for the opening ceremony. “It will help solve the crisis of gridlock in Orange County.”

The road opened about 4 p.m., just in time for the evening rush hour. Officials of the Transportation Corridor Agencies, which built and will operate the new stretch of highway, observed the event with a morning ceremony.

“This is an opportunity to gaze into the future and see what can be done in terms of [the nation’s] transportation system,” said Rodney Slater, head of the Federal Highway Administration. “It’s a perfect example of what can happen when we think [creatively].”

The new road represents the first seven-mile stretch of a route that ultimately will take drivers 15 miles from Laguna Niguel to the John Wayne Airport, shaving at least 30 minutes off a rush hour drive that now takes 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours.

The $1.5-billion project, scheduled to be finished in December, is the cornerstone of three major toll roads in south Orange County totaling 70 miles. The roads have been under construction since 1993 and are expected to be completed by 2003.

Drivers will pay tolls from 50 cents to $1, depending on the length of the trip, to traverse the new segment that stretches from Greenfield Drive in Laguna Niguel to Laguna Canyon Road in Laguna Beach. Tolls can be paid either in cash or by using transponders, devices mounted on windshields that allow electronic detectors to debit a driver’s account.

In the last three weeks, according to transit officials, about 5,000 commuters have obtained transponders for use on the new road.

“This will mean a lot for many families and businesses in South County,” Bergeson said.

But the moment that officials were describing as a triumph didn’t come easily. For years, environmentalists and residents of Laguna Canyon had angrily protested the project, arguing that it would destroy the pristine wilderness area through which it passes.

Legal actions dragged through the courts for years. And recently, residents had expressed irritation at the increase in traffic they believe the new opening will bring to Laguna Canyon Road.

All that seemed distant on Wednesday, as celebrants milled about sipping lemonade under tents and watching the proceedings from white folding chairs.

Laguna Niguel resident Mike Fulmis, a Los Angeles firefighter selected to be one of the tollway’s first ceremonial passengers, said the route could reduce his 1 1/2-hour drive considerably.

“I take lots of routes into L.A.,” said Fulmis, 46, “but this one I’m going to enjoy. It will get me home earlier, feeling refreshed. It will let me get home without feeling like kicking the dog.”