Officials Abruptly Halt Plan to Sell Toll Road
Today’s planned $274-million sale of toll lanes on the 91 Freeway has been abruptly halted, withering under a storm of opposition by top state officials and the threat of a lawsuit by combative Riverside County transportation commissioners.
On Wednesday, state officials and representatives of an Irvine-based nonprofit group planning to buy the toll lanes from their private owner decided to pull the plug indefinitely after a flurry of teleconferences.
“The bond sale has been postponed,” announced state Treasurer Phil Angelides. “We made the determination because of the cloud of potential litigation..”
State Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer said his office would continue its investigation of the proposed transaction and try to resolve whether there are legal conflicts because of the relationships between the proposed buyer, NewTrac, and the seller of the toll lanes, the California Private Transportation Co.
Officials of both entities did not return calls for comment but have said that the public benefits of the project far outweigh the criticism.
Earlier Wednesday, 22 Riverside County transportation commissioners--including all five members of the Riverside County Board of Supervisors--voted to sue to block the sale of the toll lanes.
Although the transportation officials had previously supported NewTrac’s application for nonprofit status to the IRS, they have become increasingly alarmed by the deal. Some Riverside officials now believe they had been hoodwinked by the prospective new owners and that millions promised for road improvements would never materialize.
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