Expectations Lowered for Toll Road’s Refinancing
The agency operating the San Joaquin Hills toll road approved a $1.4-billion refinancing plan Thursday based on more modest ridership projections.
The 11-member Transportation Corridor Agencies voted unanimously--with Vice Chairman Patricia C. Bates absent--to replace the road’s funding package with one that promises a lower interest rate and lessens annual debt payments through 2012. The new bonds would be paid off by 2038.
Giving the new toll road a financial breather should provide a more friendly climate for eventually dropping the road’s $2 toll during off-peak hours, said County Supervisor Todd Spitzer, an agency director.
Such “congestion pricing” would increase the number of cars that use the road, particularly during non-commute hours, he said.
The San Joaquin Hills toll road, which opened 10 months ago, is handling about 55,000 cars a day, compared to estimates from 1992 that it would be handling 94,500 cars daily.
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