Transportation Corridor Agencies (TCA) are two joint powers authorities formed by the California State Legislature in 1986 to plan, finance, construct, and operate Orange County's toll roads. TCA consists of two local government agencies:
- The San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor Agency which oversees the San Joaquin Hills Toll Road (State Route 73).
- The Foothill/Eastern Transportation Corridor Agency which runs both the Foothill Toll Road (State Route 241) and the Eastern Toll Road (State Route 241 and State Route 261).
| Transportation Corridor Agencies | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Chief executive | Valarie McFall [1] |
| Headquarters | Irvine, California |
| Website | https://thetollroads.com/ |
| Operation | |
| Began operation | 1986 [2] |
The toll roads maintained by TCA are financed with tax-exempt bonds on a stand-alone basis -- taxpayers are not responsible for repaying any debt if toll revenues fall short.
Some California lawmakers and toll road advocates favor using similar local agencies to build and maintain future tollways, especially after the controversy of authorizing a private company to run the 91 Express Lanes. Others oppose them, arguing that new toll roads will just facilitate and perpetuate sprawl.
The Transportation Corridor Agency funded studies which argued that the California gnatcatcher was not a distinct species, in order to argue for delisting of the species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 and enable extension of the State Route 241. [3]
History
editThe toll roads managed by Transportation Agencies were originally supposed to be free roads by 2033.[4] However, TCA refinanced the debt in 2014, thus extending the agency's authority of the toll roads until 2053.[5]
In 2018, Transportation Corridor Agencies signed a cooperative agreement with the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority to be the processing partner for the San Bernardino County high-occupancy toll lanes.[6]
By 2020, Transportation Corridor Agencies had a budget of 400 million per year.[7]
By March 2020, Transportation Corridor Agencies officially abandoned plans to extend State Route 241 through San Clemente.[8]
In 2021, the city of San Clemente voted to leave the Transportation Corridor Agencies because the city lost faith that the agency would be able to pay off their debt in a timely manner.[9]
Roadways
edit| Road name | Length (mi) | Length (km) | Southern terminus | Northern terminus | Formed | Removed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
  SR 73 Toll (San Joaquin Hills Toll Road)
|
11.0 | 17.7 | I-5 in Laguna Niguel | Bison Avenue at Irvine/Newport Beach boundary | 1996 | current | The section of SR 73 from I-5 to Greenfield Road is not tolled. SR 73 continues north of Bison Avenue as the Corona Del Mar Freeway to I-405 in Costa Mesa |
 SR 133 Toll (Eastern Toll Road)
|
4.1 | 6.6 | I-5 in Irvine | SR 241 in Irvine | 1998 | current | SR 133 continues south of I-5 as the Laguna Freeway to I-405 then as Laguna Canyon Road from I-405 to Laguna Beach city limits where it becomes Broadway to its terminus at SR 1 (Pacific Coast Highway). |
 SR 241 Toll (Foothill and Eastern Toll Roads)
|
24.5 | 39.4 | Oso Parkway and Los Patrones Parkway near Las Flores | SR 91 in Anaheim | 1993 | current | Section of SR 241 north of SR 133 is part of the Eastern Transportation Corridor and south of SR 133 is the Foothill Transportation Corridor. Non-tolled continuation past the southern terminus of SR 241 to Cow Camp Road in Rancho Mission Viejo is Los Patrones Parkway. |
 SR 261 Toll (Eastern Toll Road)
|
6.2 | 10.0 | Walnut Avenue and Jamboree Road in Irvine | SR 241 in Orange | 1999 | current | Non-tolled continuation past the southern terminus of SR 261 to Bayside Drive in Newport Beach is Jamboree Road. |
  I-10 Express Lanes (San Bernardino County)
|
11.13 | 17.91 | Los Angeles–San Bernardino county line | Etiwanda Avenue in Ontario | 2024 | current | TCA serves as the processing partner of the San Bernardino County Express Lanes under a cooperative agreement with the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority.[6] |
- This list does not include the high-occupancy toll lane facilities of the 91 Express Lanes from SR 55 in Anaheim to the Riverside County line and the I-405 Express Lanes between SR 73 in Costa Mesa to I-605/SR 22 interchange in Seal Beach. These facilities are owned and operated by the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA).
Criticism
editIn 2020, Transportation Corridor Agencies were criticized for trying to convert a non-tolled road into a toll road. Transportation Corridor Agencies also objected to state legislation that forbid them from expanding the toll system in Orange County after TCA was caught using toll money to pay lobbyists.[10]
In 2020, the Orange County Grand Jury released a report that stated that the Transportation Corridor Agencies has completely fulfilled its original mandate, while criticizing them for trying to involve itself in future toll planning by claiming that, "much of the planning is being performed by consultants and TCA staff, who have a financial interest in seeing the TCA continue beyond its original mandate, and out of view of many of the TCA board members and the public thus creating a conflict of interest issue”.[11]
In 2021, the Transportation Corridor Agencies were criticized by the Orange County Grand Jury for collecting over $28 billion on a highway system that cost $2.8 billion to build. The Grand Jury's main argument is that TCA has no excuse to wait to pay off the debt in 2053.[12][13]
In 2022, the TCA CEO resigned due to a misconduct investigation.[14]
References
edit- ^ Dec 08, EIN Presswire (2 July 2023). "Valarie McFall Appointed Interim CEO of Transportation Corridor Agencies". KTLA. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Background & History | The Toll Roads". thetollroads.com. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
- ^ Clark, Chris (2016-09-21). "This Tiny Bird Scored a Win for Science". KCET. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
- ^ "These toll roads won't become freeways for years". Orange County Register. 13 November 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
- ^ "With%20this%20new%20long-term%20sustainable%20debt%20structure%20and,Chief%20Executive%20Officer%20for%20the%20Transportation%20Corridor%20Agencies. "$1.4 Billion Refinancing Improves Long-Term Debt Structure for the 73 Toll Road | The Toll Roads". www.thetollroads.com. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
- ^ a b "San Bernardino Customer Service Walk-In Center Opens in Preparation for Future SB Express Lanes on Interstate 10". thetollroads.com (Press release). Transportation Corridor Agencies. July 8, 2024.
- ^ "Samuel Johnson becomes first Black person to lead Orange County's Transportation Corridor Agency". Daily Pilot. 11 September 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
- ^ "TCA Ends Effort to Extend 241 Toll Road, Unanimously Supports Three-Project Solution to South Orange County Traffic Relief". AP News. 12 March 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
- ^ Raymundo, Shawn (19 May 2021). "UPDATE: Council Votes to Formally Withdraw from TCA". San Clemente Times. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
- ^ Pho, Brandon (29 June 2020). "Toll Road Officials Keep Battling Efforts to Drop South OC Toll Road Extension, Defend Financial Health". Voice of OC. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
- ^ "The Transportation Corridor Agencies ̶ Are They Taking Their Toll On Orange County?" (PDF). Orange County Grand Jury 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
- ^ "$28 Billion for a $2.8 Billion Road" (PDF). Orange County Grand Jury 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
- ^ "241, 73 and related toll roads will collect $28 billion for system that cost $2.8 billion to build, OC grand jury says". Orange County Register. 23 June 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
- ^ Biesiada, Noah (18 November 2022). "Orange County Toll Road CEO Resigns During Misconduct Investigation". Voice of OC. Retrieved 3 July 2023.