Tollway Pacts With Caltrans Restrict 3 Roads

Caltrans’ promise to a toll road operator not to make safety improvements to the Riverside Freeway--lest it hurt the operator’s business--is similar to agreements with two other would-be developers of toll roads in Orange and San Diego counties, documents show.

In both cases, the state agreed not to improve or extend major thoroughfares for 35 years after the nearby toll roads open.

In Orange County, an Idaho construction giant and an Arizona developer have plans to build a nearly $1-billion elevated tollway over the Santa Ana River bed, from the freeway interchange known as the “Orange Crush” south to the San Diego Freeway near South Coast Plaza.

Although the project--an extension of the Orange Freeway--is still on the drawing board, the state already has promised not to add any more lanes to the Santa Ana or Costa Mesa freeways, beyond what is currently under construction.

The project in southern San Diego County consists of 11 miles of new highway from California 54 south to the Mexican border in the Otay Mesa area. Developers there are in the environmental review stages. Caltrans, however, has already agreed to protect potential business on the toll road by not converting nearby California 905 into a freeway.

Already, the Santa Ana and Costa Mesa freeways are among the most snarled routes in Orange County.

A similar non-competition clause that has prohibited Caltrans from making safety improvements on a stretch of the Riverside Freeway has caused a furor among state and local officials. After the state agency proceeded with its plans to make the repairs along a stretch of the freeway, the private company operating the adjacent 91 Express Lanes sued the agency, saying the improvements would hurt business.

Caltrans backed off and settled the lawsuit, although the agency’s statistics had shown that there were an unusually high number of accidents in the area.

On Friday, state Sen. Joe Dunn (D-Santa Ana) said the 57 tollway contract provision could have dire consequences for commuters in central Orange County. At the very least, he said, any dispute between Caltrans and the toll road operators would probably wind up in court.

“This agreement will do exactly what the agreement for the 91 did,” Dunn said. “Any expansion, even if it is for a safety improvement, will unfortunately result in litigation.

“In my view, this will lead to even more dramatic impacts than the problems we’ve seen with the 91, because this toll road would cut right through the core of central Orange County,” Dunn said. “This has created an environment where public safety could ultimately be compromised as a result of these non-competition agreements.”

State transportation officials on Friday downplayed the consequences of the non-competition clause for the 57 tollway project.

“What’s the probability of this road being built?” asked Bill Sessa, deputy secretary for the state Business, Transportation and Housing Agency, which oversees Caltrans. “We’re talking about potential problems that haven’t manifested themselves yet. Some of this is an academic discussion.”

In fact, the group planning to build the 57 toll road has numerous hurdles to surmount before achieving its goal. American Transportation Development inherited the franchise agreement two months ago and has 13 months to begin construction. If work doesn’t begin by January 2001, the group will lose the franchise, which had been granted to another developer in 1991.

The 2001 deadline won’t be met, Grant R. Holland, American Transportation vice president, said Friday. But he said the group has the ability to negotiate an extension from Caltrans.

He added that non-competition clauses are “funny creatures” that can be helpful, but not necessary, to toll road operators.