Fixing the Blame for the Toll Road Mess
Your editorial “Get It Right the First Time” (Sept. 23) and recent coverage of allegedly faulty storm-water filters on the 73 toll road (“Cost of Fixing Tollway Drains Is $13.3 Million,” Sept. 10) rely on misleading information that should be corrected.
First, the statement that the filters have never functioned properly is false. The Transportation Corridor Agencies, which operate the toll-collection system for 51 miles of public toll roads, installed the filters in working condition.
The filters didn’t work simply because Caltrans failed to perform routine maintenance as it agreed to do when it took over responsibility for the road. As the water board’s order states: “The observed conditions of the [filter] units are a direct result of Caltrans’ failure to implement an adequate inspection and maintenance program. If these devices are not maintained, they stand little chance of remaining functional.”
Second, recent articles fault the filters’ design. The fact is that the new designs, released by the manufacturer after the existing system was already installed, did not fundamentally change the way the filters work. A design improvement alone does not render the existing system obsolete, any more than a change to a new car’s fuel-injection design would render an older car undrivable.
Third, past news articles have reported that Caltrans estimates it would cost $1 million a year to maintain the filters. TCA, with concurrence from the filter manufacturer, disagrees. We’ve always said it would cost about $140,000 per year for routine maintenance and about $900,000 every four years to replace the compost material. That’s about $330,000 per year.
Not only was Caltrans fully aware of the filters’ design, capabilities and cost, but it strongly encouraged TCA to install them from the start. TCA began looking at compost filters after Caltrans recommended such a system. Now Caltrans wants to spend $13.3 million to replace a filter system that works if maintained, while we estimate it will cost about $590,000 to restore the existing filters to working order before this winter.
The bottom line is that TCA installed a functioning compost filter system, and had it been maintained properly from the start, as Caltrans was required to do, no one would be talking about spending millions to replace it now.
James Brown Director of Engineering and Environmental Planning
Transportation Corridor Agencies
Irvine
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Re “Cost of Fixing Tollway Drains Is $13.3 Million,” Sept. 10:
The idea that protecting watersheds is a wise economic choice is finally acquiring some credibility. They say that people only react to health or economic problems; watersheds represent both. The dangers of our drinking water sources, our recreational usages and our degradation of the biotic community at large are being openly discussed.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. several years ago said that it costs in the long haul about 50% more to do things the wrong environmental way. Preserving our wetlands and waterways is finally being seen as prudent planning. The quality of life for humans, as well as nature, depends on this fragile nexus of public awareness. We can serve two masters--economics and public health.
Roger von Butow
Chairman, Clean Water Coalition
Laguna Beach
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The time has come for all so-called Transportation Corridor Agencies supporters to ask themselves questions with logical answers. If current projections are anywhere near correct, we can expect new tollway-residential-business runoff to more than triple.
This means that current beach closures would quite possibly be permanent and stretch for hundreds of coastal miles. It should be of the highest priority to ensure that before anything is built anywhere in Orange County, strict planning for expected runoff be added to the discussion. Too costly? Too dictatorial? Then why are we all living along the coast?
Mike Anfinson
San Clemente
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TCA’s deal is that it turns over the roads to the state as soon as they’re completed. Clearly it has the incentive to build roads as cheaply as possible because taxpayers get stuck with costs for maintenance. Shame on TCA, which is continuing to collect tolls while the taxpayers are paying for its mistakes and water quality is suffering from the lack of effective drains. The faulty drains are not Caltrans’ fault; they are TCA’s responsibility.
We can certainly send the message that we won’t tolerate this irresponsibility. Stop using the existing toll roads and say no to the Foothill South toll road.
Julia Dewees
San Clemente
