Board bumps up local toll-road fees

Alicia Robinson

Most drivers using the San Joaquin Hills toll road will begin paying

either 25 cents or 50 cents more on July 1.

A toll increase was approved by the San Joaquin Hills toll road

governing board Thursday as a part of the road’s budget for fiscal

year 2005, which begins in July. Board members said smaller toll

increases were planned, but they had to raise tolls more after

abandoning a merger plan that would have bailed out the toll road’s

failing finances.

Those who pay cash will see 50-cent increases at some toll plazas,

while those who use the “FasTrak” transponders will pay 25 cents more

at most toll stations. A trip to Newport Coast, for example, will go

from $1 to $1.50 for drivers paying cash and to $1.25 for FasTrak users. “The entire merger proposal was based on the current tolls,”

toll roads board chairman Peter Herzog said. “There’s absolutely no

doubt that what San Joaquin Hills had to approve [Thursday] was a

result of the merger not going through.”

The toll increases may be hard for drivers to swallow, said

Newport Beach Councilman Gary Adams, who represents the city on the

San Joaquin Hills toll road board.

It’s unclear, however, what effect the higher tolls will have on

toll-road traffic. The last major increase didn’t hurt toll-road use

too much, Adams said.

“I don’t think we expect a significant decrease in use, but I

think because we’ve gone above and beyond the [planned increases] we

may actually see some diversion,” he said. “It’s hard to predict.”

The San Joaquin Hills toll road is projected to take in $70.6

million in tolls in 2005, which is 11.9% more than 2004 estimated

revenues.

The board also approved hiring an attorney and financial

consultant to review an environmental impact report on plans for the

south extension of the Foothill toll road. When the planned Foothill

South extension opens, it is expected to take traffic away from the

San Joaquin Hills toll road, an issue the scrapped merger plan would

have addressed, Adams said.

The San Joaquin Hills board wants to hear from consultants in time

to submit comments on the Foothill South environmental report by an

Aug. 6 deadline.

The Foothill and Eastern toll road board on Thursday approved a

2005 budget that included $57.6 million for continued design work for

the Foothill South extension.