Over the Hills

A trip down the Eastern Toll Road isn’t just a timesaver--it also feels like time travel, a journey back to the days when Orange County had endless stretches of open space.

At Thursday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new 17 miles of road, hundreds of dignitaries and guests took a first spin on the road that opens to the public Sunday. And the black-and-white, Ansel Adams-like photo of the highway emblazoned on the event program does not mislead.

“I’m amazed by the scenery,” Irvine Councilman Mike Ward said. “I think this drive will be relaxing and have benefits beyond just saving time.”

When it comes to aesthetics, reviews of the $765-million road were enthusiastic. From the Windy Ridge Toll Plaza--which the morning breeze proved was aptly named--you could see nothing but blue sky and rolling terrain.

No billboards. No houses. No fluorescent fast-food signs beckoning. No amusement park placards to get kids excited. Just a lighted message board, topped with the Toll Roads insignia.

But this oasis from suburban sprawl isn’t expected to be permanent. Some tracts of land around the highway are scheduled for eventual development, which is why environmentalists fought for years in an unsuccessful effort to block construction. Critics say that building a major highway through pristine foothills will do grave harm to the ecosystem.

For now, though, the road feels nothing like the urban connector that it is, providing an alternative to a gridlock-plagued commute along the Riverside and Costa Mesa freeways. During rush hour, the Eastern tollway is expected to save commuters 30 minutes or more on the trip from Corona to Irvine Center--which now averages an hour and 15 minutes.

One stretch of the new toll road has no exits for 6.5 miles, another link goes uninterrupted for 6.2 miles. Birds fly overhead. The jutting rocks color hillsides in grays and browns. The peaks of the Santa Ana Mountains look like the wrinkles on a walrus’ neck.

The area is so isolated that some radio stations fade out and cellular phone calls can be hard to make. The Transportation Corridor Agencies has been working with cellular companies to fix service along segments of the route. But those problems, according to officials, probably won’t be fixed until next year at the earliest. Call boxes are placed every half mile along the route for emergency use.

In many respects, the road is most remarkable in ways not readily visible. The pitch is gentle--adhering to the 6% grade required of all new state highways. As a result the drive seems steady and smooth--an engineering marvel requiring the excavation and transfer of 67 million cubic yards of dirt. Also unseen are the five wildlife crossings that tunnel under the road, part of a $80 million environmental mitigation program. Unless you get out of the car and peer over the edge--something the California Highway Patrol would strongly discourage--even the 70 bridge structures along the road go unnoticed.

The highway makes up the most important link in 72 miles of planned toll roads in Orange County--linking the booming Inland Empire with the job centers of Orange County. When the Eastern tollway opens its ramps early Sunday, more than 41 miles of toll road will be in operation.

Plans for the road began a decade ago when a group of Orange County businessmen started to look for an alternative way to build new roads in the county after it became clear money for such projects would be nearly impossible to get from the state or federal government. The result was a more than $4-billion public/private venture, funded through tax-free municipal bonds bought by private investors and operated by TCA--a public “sunset” agency that will cease operation when the bill for the road is paid.

Price of admission runs up to $3.25 for a trip from the Riverside Freeway into Irvine--which can be paid in cash at the toll plazas or by pre-purchased FasTrak transponders. Motorists can use the road free from Sunday to Oct. 25.

Traffic projections for the Eastern tollway are for 48,000 cars a day on the busiest section by 2000. Those with the FasTrak transponders shouldn’t have to hit the brakes at any point on their trip, say TCA planners. By 2020, road planners believe nearly 82,000 cars a day will use the road.

How on the mark those projections are will be closely watched both nationally and worldwide by investors and communities interested in building similar roads. Orange County’ first toll road, the San Joaquin Hills, fell far short of original traffic projections and had to be refinanced a year after opening in 1996. The road has been gaining users every month and is now close to meeting the revised traffic estimates.

At the party celebrating all the hard work that has gone into the toll road, the need for the public to embrace the road seemed never far from officials’ minds. After the jazz orchestra played some swing tunes and a high school color guard presented the flag, the benediction was given.

“Keeping in mind this is a toll road,” said Robert L. Richardson, a Santa Ana councilman who serves on the Eastern Toll Road board, “we pray that the drivers be frequent and plentiful.”

(For information call (800) 378-TRAK or online https://www.tcagencies.com)