Dunn Seeks Talks on Fixing Riverside Freeway Bottleneck

Seeking to help thousands of commuters stuck on the Riverside Freeway each day, state Sen. Joe Dunn (D-Santa Ana) on Wednesday proposed opening negotiations among state and local transportation officials and owners of the 91 Express Lanes.

Dunn offered to mediate private sessions that would begin “as soon as possible.” He would like to reach a compromise that would give Caltrans freedom to improve a snarled stretch of the Riverside Freeway near the border of Orange and Riverside counties--despite an agreement signed last fall by the agency’s director that prohibits the state from doing so.

Caltrans Chief Jose Medina agreed in October to shelve plans to widen a six-mile segment of the Riverside Freeway until traffic increases by more than 50%, not expected for at least 15 years. Medina made the agreement to settle a lawsuit brought by the 91 Express Lanes owner--but Dunn would like to scrap that agreement and start over.

“I am of the belief that there is a middle ground, a compromise, that would allow Caltrans to make improvements that would alleviate traffic congestion and that would not interfere with the toll revenues of the private owners,” Dunn said. “I’m looking for common ground, where everybody gives a little bit to solve this problem. Not everybody would come away happy, with everything that they want.”

Invitation letters will be sent today, Dunn said. Letters will go to officials at Caltrans, the Orange County Transportation Authority, the Riverside County Transportation Commission, the toll road operators--called the California Private Transportation Co.--and a nonprofit group that tried to buy the toll lanes last year.

Inviting the nonprofit group, called NewTrac, to negotiation sessions is not necessarily an endorsement of last year’s aborted sale, Dunn said. Instead, he said, the group has been “an interested party” and could still play a role.

Dunn’s proposal, although in the preliminary stages, was greeted enthusiastically by officials who represent commuters in Orange and Riverside counties, particularly by those who would like to continue the momentum generated by a joint legislative hearing on the 91 Express Lanes earlier this month in Sacramento.

“If Sen. Dunn can act as a broker to allow us to move forward, that will be a big step in the right direction,” said Riverside County Supervisor John Tavaglione. “If that freeway gets too congested, then no one is going to win.”

State Assemblyman Lou Correa (D-Anaheim) called Dunn’s proposal “an excellent idea. . . . I’m very interested in coming up with solutions to this whole mess.”

Officials from the California Private Transportation Co. said they would welcome an opportunity for “serious” negotiations over the fate of the 10 miles of toll lanes that run along the median of the 91 Freeway from Anaheim to the Orange County/Riverside County line.

“We’re very open to meeting with anybody who has a real interest,” said Greg Hulsizer, the company’s general manager. “We’ve been very clear in our message, that the toll lanes are for sale.”

The asking price stands at about $210 million, Hulsizer said.

Hulsizer would not comment on whether his company would be willing to renegotiate the October settlement agreement or allow modifications to the group’s “non-compete” zone, authorized by the company’s 1993 franchise agreement with the state and which prohibited Caltrans from making improvements.