New TCA Chief Affirms Tollway Plans

Orange County’s new toll road chief said Thursday he would like to break ground on the final 16 miles of the system within three years and open the road to commuters by 2003.

Walter Kreutzen, 48, the longtime second-in-command at the Transportation Corridor Agencies, was unanimously named to replace outgoing Executive Director William Woollett. Woollett, 70, had been with the agencies since 1989.

Kreutzen, the top financial officer at the agencies, said completing the entire 67-mile toll road system will be his primary focus. But he may face a tough fight.

Environmentalists have questioned the need for the final leg of the so-called Foothill South road, which runs through some of the most environmentally sensitive land in Southern California, including a popular state park. The battle over the projected $644-million project may be even more contentious than similar fights over the environmental impact of the 41 miles of toll road already built and another 10 miles set to open early next year.

“They’re facing very widespread opposition to the Foothill South, more so even than when they built the San Joaquin [Hills] section,” said Joel Reynolds, an attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council who has a long, litigious history with the TCA. “We absolutely will not back off of this.”

Kreutzen said the Foothill South is needed and will be built.

“If you look at any plans for transportation in the county, you will see they are based on the Foothill South being built,” he said. “We will build it.”

Kreutzen is no stranger to the toll-road-building process, having come to work under Woollett at the agencies nearly a decade back when the idea of paying tolls to drive was considered unthinkable.

“I’ve been here for most of the action,” said Kreutzen, who has been instrumental in financing the $1.7 billion in roads already constructed. “I was one of the people Bill [Woollett] brought in to make things happen.”

Board member Mike Ward said the choice of Kreutzen--who won the job after a three-month search that began with 28 candidates--was an affirmation of the work the agencies have done. Kreutzen, he said, was the logical choice to help the agencies make a transition from road building to operations. The TCA is slated to go out of business after the debt for the toll roads is paid and the roads are open free to the public.

Kreutzen, who said he plans to “stay the course,” had mixed feelings about rising to the top.

“For the first time, clearly I am the senior staff person. I don’t have the wing of Bill Woollett, and that was very nice to have,” said Kreutzen, who started working at age 25 with Woollett for the city of Irvine. “I’m out there all by myself.”

Kreutzen said he will consider making some changes in the 47-member staff, including eliminating his own chief operating officer position when he takes Woollett’s job on Jan. 22.

“It might be time to make the organization more streamlined,” Kreutzen said. The agencies--which have two separate boards of directors for the Foothill/Eastern and San Joaquin toll roads--have a yearly operating budget of $479 million.

Kreutzen’s contract still has to be negotiated. He said he expects a raise from his current salary of $127,416. Woollett, one of the highest-paid public officials in the county, makes about $142,000 a year.

In other business, board members approved $250,000 to strengthen the fence along the Eastern toll road, which opened Oct. 18.

At least seven deer and seven coyotes have died in the first weeks since the road was opened, prompting concern among biologists that the 6-foot fence lining most of the road was too short to protect wildlife and motorists.

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Raising the Bar

Transportation Corridor Agencies board members approved $250,000 to strengthen the fence along the Eastern toll road, which opened Oct. 18. At least seven deer and seven coyotes have died in the weeks after the road was opened.