Santa Ana Area Tollway Project Still in Gear

Leaders of a joint construction venture hope to revive a contentious plan to build a $1-billion private toll road through the heart of Orange County, linking the hectic Orange Crush interchange to the San Diego Freeway in Costa Mesa.

Long considered dead by many officials and policymakers, the so-called SR-57 Extension project was one of four private toll road franchises approved by the Legislature in 1989--an early experiment in free-market transportation.

Now, however, with just five months remaining before that franchise expires, the president of American Transportation Development and Caltrans confirmed Friday that both parties are negotiating a possible extension of the contract.

“We believe there’s a tremendous amount of potential in this project,” said Grant R. Holland, president of ATD, a joint venture between Interwest Co. of Arizona and Idaho’s Washington Group International. “It’s something that’s badly needed. This area has some of the worst traffic in the country.”

The firm’s lobbying effort has been substantial, according to state transportation officials, and the developer is expected to meet soon with the Orange County Transportation Authority to solicit its support for the project, although that board is divided on the project.

The matter has placed state transportation officials in an awkward position as well, as word of negotiations has threatened to revive past controversy involving Caltrans and the toll companies. That controversy involved disclosures that the toll contracts prohibited Caltrans from repairing public roadways that were considered “competition” for the toll roads.

On Friday, Caltrans officials refused to discuss the negotiations and were reluctant even to acknowledge their discussions with ATD. Holland, however, said his company has offered to negotiate a new agreement that would allow the state to repair and upgrade nearby roads previously considered to be competition. Holland said his company only wanted to ensure that the state did not build a new freeway that was parallel to the proposed toll road.

The developer has proposed elevating the roadway above the river but suggested that it could also run along a bank. Proponents say that after construction, the road would be placed in the hands of a nonprofit corporation that would collect the tolls. Holland predicts that the toll road would reduce congestion on nearby roadways by 10% to 15%.

Although a number of Orange County transportation officials say residents should welcome any additional relief from gridlock, others say the impact on their own cities and the environment is too great.

On Friday, OCTA’s chairwoman said she already had been contacted by the developer for support but couldn’t offer any. Laurann Cook, who also sits on the Fountain Valley City Council, said the proposed toll road threatened to pollute the Santa Ana River and would dump unwanted traffic onto the already congested streets of Fountain Valley.

“I know they’re going to ask the OCTA for support, but I’m biased on this issue,” Cook said. “I can’t support it.”

The agency’s vice chairman, however, offered a different view.

“Whether it’s building a toll road or a public road, it’s definitely something we need to look at,” said Michael Ward, an Irvine City Councilman and OCTA board member. “There’s a gap in the system there.”

The proposed roadway would run almost entirely through Santa Ana, and for a distance of almost 11 miles. Officials and residents in that city are mobilizing against the prospect, saying the project would cause the river environmental troubles and disturb neighborhoods, particularly the new River Glen housing development. Already, the issue has been turned into a campaign issue in the Santa Ana City Council race.

“The city would not be in favor of this project,” said City Manager David N. Ream.

Although the construction of private toll roads was common in California during the Gold Rush, it was far more controversial in 1989, when the Legislature considered the idea as a way of improving transportation in a time of low funding.

Since then, only one of the four private toll roads has actually been constructed--the 91 Express Lanes on the Riverside Freeway--and many observers have considered the roadway a failure because the owner has tried to sell the project.

Of the remaining franchises, a proposal to build a 10-mile toll road near Otay Mesa, in San Diego County, is just now gaining environmental approval and another planned tollway in Alameda and Contra Costa counties is considered dead.

Tollway supporters like Holland insist the roads can be successful, and say the 91 Express Lanes project is now turning a profit.

However, some transportation officials say that the tollways remain underutilized and have failed to alleviate traffic gridlock as first envisioned.