Orange County Toll Roads Are Easing Congestion, Agency Says

Construction of a tollway network in Orange County nearly eight years ago has reduced traffic congestion on area freeways by as much as 25% and has spared motorists collectively more than 100,000 hours a day of commuter gridlock, toll officials say.

However, that reduction has come at a price. With more people paying to drive the Transportation Corridor Agencies’ toll roads, the tollways themselves are suffering from congestion during morning commutes, slowing traffic to a 35 mph grind at several choke points.

In a report released Thursday, the toll road agency said that the county’s three public toll roads have helped uncork traffic on the San Diego Freeway, giving motorists an alternative to the notorious El Toro Y and the thick traffic in southern Orange County.

Officials at the toll road agency greeted the report as long-awaited proof that the tollways are paying off. In the years after the construction of the San Joaquin Hills, Eastern and Foothill toll roads, officials have taken a drubbing for overestimating the number of riders who would pay to use them. Overall, the roads are seeing almost 5% fewer customers than first expected, though that is a sharp improvement from past years.

“This report is validation that the toll roads are truly having a positive impact,” said Walter Kreutzen, CEO of the toll road agency. “We’ve saved motorists from wasting a lot of time.”

The report contends that had the toll roads never been built, Orange County freeways now would have 4% to 25% more congestion and residents would be breathing 4,000 more tons of pollutants a year.

On Thursday, many drivers said the findings came as no surprise, but complained that even if the tollways have succeeded in thinning traffic on freeways, congestion remains a problem.

“I believe that the tollways have reduced traffic on the freeways, but there’s still too many people,” said Nadine Velastegui, a Lake Forest resident. “The traffic makes me really want to find a job closer to home or to relocate. I have better things to do with my time than spend it in the car.”

Sarah Pongetti, an Orange resident, agreed. “I avoid the freeways and don’t want to pay the toll. I take surface streets now.”

Tollway critics, however, are more skeptical about the report’s findings. Andrew Wetzler, an attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, said he would need to know more about how the report was conducted before he could comment.

“The agency doesn’t have a very good track record when it comes to projected figures,” Wetzler said. “I find it hard to believe.”

To address the problem of toll road congestion, officials are considering adding traffic lanes to certain sections of the roads or increasing the toll. The latter action, however, would only move some traffic back to other routes.

Currently, the Foothill or 241 Toll Road suffers congestion from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. between Bake Parkway and the Arroyo Trabuco Bridge, about four miles. Toll officials have proposed adding a new lane on the northbound side, which would cost $12.8 million.

The northbound San Joaquin Hills or 73 Toll Road suffers congestion during the same hours at its main toll plaza and between the El Toro and Aliso Creek exits. The slowdown is the result of added traffic from nearby onramps, according to Lisa Telles, a toll road spokeswoman.

“We’re looking at possible solutions right now,” Telles said. “The problem is, if traffic begins to bog down on the toll roads, it’ll eliminate the value of using the toll roads in the first place. We’re not at that point yet, but we want to be ahead of the curve.”

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Congestion Relief

A Transportation Corridor Agencies report says that toll roads have modestly relieved congestion on some of Orange County’s busiest freeways.

Source: Transportation Corridor Agencies