State to Repave Crash-Plagued Toll Road for Better Traction

The state will spend $2 million to put a grainier surface on the San Joaquin Hills toll road to improve safety, though county transportation officials are blaming a rash of rain-related accidents on lead-foot drivers, not road conditions.

The state will pour a one-inch-thick asphalt overlay over 10 miles of the hilly road’s 15-mile length before next winter’s rainy season, Rose Orem, a Caltrans spokeswoman, said Friday.

The action on a roadway that was opened only 19 months ago is part of the state’s continuing effort to monitor highways to identify and correct safety problems, Orem said.

Because the toll road isn’t clogged with traffic, commuters have been zipping along at high speeds during the county’s unseasonably wet El Nino weather conditions, said Paul Glaab, spokesman for the Transportation Corridor Agencies, which manages the roadway.

“The speed limit is 65 miles an hour, but that doesn’t mean that speed is safe during rainy weather,” Glaab said. “Everyone learns in high school driver’s ed that you have to drive to the conditions.”

The toll road was built to state engineering, design and safety specifications, Orem said. Still, there were 31 rain-related accidents from the toll road’s opening in November 1996 through last year.

Of the those accidents, 80% were caused by excessive speed, according to the California Highway Patrol. The rest were attributed to bald tires, locked brakes and other equipment-related problems.

The accidents resulted in 13 injuries and one death.

The new surface--a first on Orange County roads--is expected to reduce rain-related hydroplaning and skid accidents by up to 50%, she said. Hydroplaning occurs when a motorist drives too fast through rain or standing water, causing the tires to glide on a layer of water, not on the road surface.

The overlay contains larger granite chunks under the asphalt to suck water from the surface more efficiently and improve skid resistance.

“This is being done to counteract the fact that motorists tend to speed in bad weather on this road,” Orem said. “It doesn’t allow people to drive faster in the rain.”

Caltrans is responsible for maintaining the toll road, which is part of the state highway system. The road is scheduled to revert to a no-toll freeway in 2025 when its construction bonds are repaid through the tolls.

The money for the asphalt overlay will come from a special fund for safety improvements.

Officials said the new surface was deemed the best way to improve safety on the road, which has several steep hills where drivers gain speed on the downgrades. The road already has electronic signs warning drivers to slow down in rain or fog.

About 110,000 trips per day are logged on the toll road, the first to be opened in Orange County.