Appraisal Asked for 91 Toll Road

Three lawmakers pledged Friday to seek about $250,000 in state funds for an independent appraisal of the 91 Express Lanes, perhaps the first step toward public purchase of the state’s only private road.

The commitment to pursue funding came during an unprecedented meeting between the private operator of the toll lanes and officials of Caltrans, the Orange County Transportation Authority and the Riverside County Transportation Commission.

The 91 Express Lanes have been the focus of intense scrutiny, including a legislative hearing in Sacramento, since an attempt to sell the private road to a nonprofit group for about $220 million failed last year amid public outcry over terms of the proposal.

Officials Friday said an independent appraisal of the road, which cost about $120 million to build, is “absolutely crucial” before its future can be decided. The private lanes run on the median of the Riverside Freeway between the Orange and Riverside county line and the Costa Mesa Freeway.

Among possibilities:

* Establishment of a local authority to buy the lanes.

* An outright purchase of the lanes by the state, possibly through the use of surplus funds.

* The sale of the private road to another private company.

“Starting Monday, we are going to try to find a source of discretionary funds for this appraisal,” said state Sen. Joe Dunn (D-Santa Ana), who called Friday’s meeting along with Assemblywoman Marilyn C. Brewer (R-Newport Beach) and Assemblyman Rod Pacheco (R-Riverside).

Those at the session, held at the Orange County Transportation Authority headquarters in Orange, said the atmosphere was cordial, particularly for a group that has vehemently disagreed in the past on what should happen to the 10 miles of toll lanes.

Dunn said he asked the parties to come together to “keep the ball moving forward.”

He said the meeting was the first step toward resolving concerns about the toll lanes.

Eric Haley, executive director of the Riverside Transportation Commission, said, “Basically what the controversy over the nonprofit debacle showed us is that there’s a great interest in our county in moving forward on this.”

Riverside County officials were among the most critical of a sales price that would have given the original investors an estimated $90-million profit. They were also outraged by a Caltrans decision to delay for decades plans to add free lanes to the Riverside Freeway because of a noncompetitive agreement it had signed for the toll road.

Dunn said he and the other lawmakers hope to speed up the process by identifying discretionary funds that could be used. It would take about 90 days to get the appraisal once the funds were available, he said.

Officials for the toll road’s owner, California Private Transportation Co., say they welcome the independent appraisal. They believe it will validate the price they settled on in negotiations with NewTrac, the private nonprofit group of businesspeople interested in buying the road. That price was based on the value of toll revenue over the remaining 30 years of the franchise agreement on the lanes. After the agreement ends, the lanes fall under Caltrans control.

“The Express Lanes have tremendous value,” said Greg Hulsizer, the company’s general manager. “The lanes are still for sale at a fair price, and we think that price will be upward of $200 million.”