OCTA Is Urged to Start Talks to Buy Tollway

In an unprecedented move, the Orange County Transportation Authority today will consider approving negotiations to buy the controversial 91 Express Lanes--a privately owned tollway that has been blamed for aggravating congestion on the traffic-swamped Riverside Freeway.

Several members of the transportation board favor buying the 10-mile toll route, a move that would end a troublesome agreement that severely restricts improvements to the freeway.

The OCTA board had directed its staff to study buying the lanes, and the staff has recommended negotiating a purchase.

Buying the lanes also might quell years of political tension between Orange County--a onetime supporter of the Express Lanes--and Riverside County, which has sued Caltrans and California Private Transportation Co., which owns the private lanes.

“We are charting new territory here. No one has ever bought a toll road before,” said county Supervisor Todd Spitzer, an OCTA board member who has led the effort to buy the turnpike. “All the evidence shows that this is going to be a firefight” with the Express Lanes.

Greg Hulsizer, general manager for California Public Transportation, reiterated last week that the tollway is not for sale. Still, he said, company officials would be willing to discuss the idea with OCTA.

It is unclear whether the toll lanes, which run along the middle of the freeway, would be opened to general traffic or remain reserved for paying customers. Furthermore, establishing the value of the toll lanes could be complex.

The tollway, which has two lanes in each direction, starts in eastern Anaheim and ends at the Riverside County line. It opened in 1996 at a cost of $130 million.

Supporters say the lanes provided needed road capacity at a time when state and county government had little money for highway construction. But critics say the private lanes have stood in the way of improving or widening the highway so it can handle the Inland Empire’s explosive population growth.

To ensure the Express Lanes’ success, Caltrans and California Private Transportation struck a noncompete agreement in the early 1990s that gives the Express Lanes’ owner veto power over freeway improvements if they threaten to take away toll-lane customers. The pact covers 30 miles of the Riverside Freeway from Interstate 15 to the Los Angeles-Orange County line.

There are about 270,000 vehicle trips a day on the Riverside Freeway, and the vast majority of the people are commuting to work in Orange and Los Angeles counties. About 33,000 daily trips are made on the Express Lanes. Projections indicate that by 2015, there will be a 48% increase in traffic on the Riverside Freeway, reaching 400,000 vehicle trips a day.

“This is a good move,” said Riverside County Supervisor Tom Mullen. “I applaud the board, the executive director and the staff for their willingness to look to see if there are problems and to find solutions.”

OCTA staff research showed that a buyout would clear the way for Caltrans, Riverside County and Orange County to add lanes and make other improvements to the freeway.

“It’s likely that we are going to approve this. I haven’t heard anyone saying ‘Don’t do it,’ ” said Greg Winterbottom, an alternate OCTA board member.

Authority officials declined to discuss what they think the lanes are worth. In a controversial effort to sell the Express Lanes a few years ago, the value was estimated at $230 million--an amount some critics have called too high.

“It’s all going to come down to price,” Spitzer said. “It’s like buying a home or a car where there is only one dealer. They know what we want. They know this is our dream house. But how much longer does CPTC want to operate where no one wants them?”

Spitzer: Lanes Are a ‘Failed Experiment’

Despite Hulsizer’s stated position, there is speculation that California Public Transportation might want to sell because of the legal, political and economic uncertainty that surrounds the beleaguered lanes.

OCTA initially provided millions of dollars in assistance to build the Express Lanes. Spitzer, the co-chairman of the OCTA board, described the tollway as “a failed experiment.”

In its lawsuit, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors alleges that Caltrans and the Express Lanes have breached the public trust and misused state resources. The case is headed for trial next year and could threaten the noncompete agreement.

While the tollway’s financial outlook is steadily improving, California Public Transportation’s majority owner--telecommunications giant Level 3--is $8 billion in debt. The Colorado-based company suffered a $2-billion loss last year.

Level’s 3 economic problems, Hulsizer said, have not had any influence over California Public Transportation.

“This project has been treated as a stand-alone investment. With our recent refinance, we will have an operating profit,” Hulsizer said. “I have not heard anything from Level 3 so far.”