Which Is Faster? Writers, Start Your Engines

We spent Sunday night in Corona, Dana Parsons and I, so we could test the new Eastern Toll Road on Monday, its first day of morning commuter traffic heading to Orange County.

Dana, my fellow columnist, wanted to take the standard course for our comparison--the freeway grind that thousands drive Monday through Friday in a vehicular chain of frustrated humanity. Fine with me; I wanted to try what a friend of ours calls “the sylvan route,” the toll road snaking its way through rolling hillsides, a nice respite from miles and miles of commercialism. You wonder how long those hills will remain unblemished by development.

The toll drive is one commuters should enjoy, if they’re willing to pay the cost--and as long as they’re driving something dependable. I’ve got some advice about that. . . .

First, the nuts and bolts: The toll road proved to be a tranquil experience, less headache than what commuters from San Bernardino and Riverside counties are used to. And it saves a bit both on time and mileage if you’re heading to South County from the Inland Empire. The best Dana and I can piece together from our comparison trip is that the toll road shaved about five minutes off the usual trip and about five miles.

Our destination, just for purposes of the test, was the Irvine Spectrum, just north of where the San Diego and Santa Ana freeways meet.

Dana was to head down the Riverside Freeway (California 91) from Corona, then veer onto the Costa Mesa Freeway (California 55), then south on the Santa Ana Freeway (I-5). I would leave the 91 at California 241, the completed branch of the new toll road, just inside the Orange County line. Then I’d take the 133 portion of the Eastern Toll Road, and finish on the Santa Ana. Then we’d see who got to the Spectrum first.

This was the first road test we had been asked to take together, so we planned it as if we were studying for a final exam.

We met the night before at a bed and breakfast in the heart of Corona. We eliminated variables whenever possible. We each, for example, took the same-model company car.

We set ground rules: I would stay within the speed limit on the toll road, and Dana agreed not to slip into the carpool lane or weave through traffic to try to beat me.

During the brainstorming session, Dana expressed concern that the car he had checked out might be overheating. The arrow on the heat gauge kept swinging dangerously toward the red zone. We decided to make sure it had enough water in its radiator. Except, once under the hood, we couldn’t find the radiator cap. We might be the only two adults on the planet to look at a car’s engine and not be able to find the radiator.

So we satisfied ourselves by checking the oil, which seemed low but at least registered on the dipstick.

After synchronizing our clocks, our wake-up calls and then our breakfast time, I thought we were all set. But at breakfast, Dana brought up an idea that he’d been perfecting since his morning shower: Because he would be taking the route with the bumper-to-bumper traffic, there was a chance that under those driving conditions, the car with the overheating problem might just break down. So, Dana suggested, why didn’t he take the good car I had checked out, the one pretty well guaranteed to make our destination in one piece. Since I would be in smoother traffic on the toll road, I stood the better chance of making it all the way without becoming stranded in the problem car.

It took a while for it to sink in that he was serious. He was pure of motive: “If we don’t switch cars, we could wind up blowing this whole assignment.”

We switched cars.

Somewhere south of Corona, Dana in sunglasses passed me in the next lane, smiling and waving as if this were the most fun he’d had all week.

But he is, after all, a serious journalist. When our cars neared each other again, I saw him taking notes as he drove, his pen’s cap clenched in his mouth, as he furtively took glances at the roadway. I said a silent adieu to the good car and headed for the far right lane.

The toll road was busy, though never so much that you couldn’t drive the speed limit. The solid traffic might have been because the toll road is free through Sunday. And lots of people want to try something new. Next week, you begin paying on a sliding scale, depending on the stretch you take, up to $3.25.

This trip took me 49 minutes, Dana on the regular route about 54. (Commuters from Corona have said that same trip can take up to 75 minutes. Dana’s traffic Monday may well have been eased by interest in the toll road.)

We were just 13 miles past our bed and breakfast when I left the heavy Riverside Freeway traffic and picked up the toll road. Those 13 took 31 minutes. It took me another 18 miles--and 18 more minutes--to make it to the Irvine Spectrum. And that’s with a stop to chat with Vic Arias, a toll booth operator. Also, I discovered Dana was right about the heat gauge. Though I made it back, this was a car in need of a shop.

So maybe you will want to give the toll road a try. But fair warning: Until its 261 branch, which will wind up closer to the Costa Mesa Freeway, the tollway might not save you time if you work in the northwest part of the county. Also, keep in mind you won’t find any service stations along that route, in case your car really does overheat.

Jerry Hicks’ column appears Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Readers may reach Hicks by calling the Times Orange County Edition at (714) 966-7823 or by fax to (714) 966-7711, or e-mail to jerry.hicks@latimes.com

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Two Roads Taken

Times columnists Dana Parsons and Jerry Hicks started Monday in Corona, testing two routes to the Irvine Spectrum: the newly opened Eastern Toll Road and the traditional freeway approach. The outcome:

Parsons

Departed: 7:27 a.m.

Arrived: 8:21 a.m.

Distance: 36 miles

Time: 54 minutes

*

Hicks

Departed: 7:27 a.m.

Arrived: 8:16 a.m.

Distance: 31 miles

Time: 49 minutes