Pelican Parts Forums - View Single Post - Private toll roads in SoCal

sammyg2 · 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by berettafan

PRIVATE road operators?

wtf is that?

after common defense roads are among the most important functions of gov't!

Suggest this issue and the clear scamming going on by these 'private operators' are good reasons for some things to not be privatized.

I suggest the private part isn't the problem. It's the gubmint …….

This is how it works in So Cal:

Quote:

Many years ago, California got a whole lot of $$$ from the federal gubmint to build carpool lanes on a freeway between OC and Corona.

And they took it.

Then they changed their mind and turned it into a toll road, with help from the taxpayers and a company called California Private Transportation Company (CPTC) who built the toll road, with help from the taxpayers $$$$ ????

Then when it was done, California Private Transportation Company (CPTC), sold the toll road back to the state of California. $$$$$$$$ ?????

Then the state of California gave California Private Transportation Company (CPTC), a very lucrative 35 year lease on the toll road. $$$$$$$$ ??????

Then the California Private Transportation Company (CPTC) sold it back to Caltrans?????
but it's still operated by California Private Transportation Company (CPTC)??????

And as confusing as all that is, the part that is really hard to believe is NO ONE HAS GONE TO PRISON OVER IT YET!!!!!!!

Quote:

The chosen solution was to create a toll road in the median of the freeway. This original section of the 91 Express Lanes operated between the Orange–Riverside county line and the Costa Mesa Freeway (SR 55) interchange in eastern Anaheim, a distance of about 10 miles (16 km). The project was developed in partnership with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) by California Private Transportation Company (CPTC), which formally transferred ownership of the facility to the State of California prior to opening the project to traffic on December 27, 1995. Caltrans then leased the toll road back to CPTC for a 35-year operating period. The new lanes have been officially designated a part of the state highway system.[44] The California Highway Patrol (CHP) is responsible for providing police services at CPTC's expense. Maintenance and operational costs for the facility are also the responsibility of CPTC.

In April, 2002, the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) reached an agreement in concept to purchase the private toll road project for $207.5 million. The OCTA took possession of the toll road on January 3, 2003, marking the first time the 91 Express Lanes was managed by public officials. Within a few months, OCTA turned the lanes into the HOT / tollway hybrid that it is today.[45] One of the primary investors in CPTC, Cofiroute USA, continues to manage and operate the lanes under a management contract with OCTA.[46]

Opening in 1995, the 91 Express Lanes was the first privately funded tollway built in the United States since the 1940s, and the first fully automated tollway in the world.

The express lanes have been controversial because of a non-compete agreement that the state made with CPTC. The clause, which was negotiated by Caltrans and never was brought to the legislature, prevent any improvements along 30 miles (48 km) of the Riverside Freeway to ensure profit for the express lanes. This includes restricting the state from widening the free lanes or building mass transit near the freeway. CPTC filed a lawsuit against Caltrans over freeway widening related to the interchange with the Eastern Transportation Corridor interchange, which was dismissed once the purchase with OCTA was finalized.[47] Following the settlement, an additional lane was added for a 5-mile (8.0 km) segment eastbound from SR 241 to SR 71, which has decreased usage of the toll road and revenues.[citation needed]

However, as a result of the controversy, more toll road advocates favor creating local agencies similar to transportation corridor agencies to build and maintain future tollways. New toll roads would be financed with tax-exempt bonds on a stand-alone basis—taxpayers would not be responsible for repaying any debt if toll revenues fall short. Also, there would be a less restrictive non-compete clause: they would be compensated only for any revenue loss caused by improvements near the toll roads.[48]

In the 2010s, the Riverside County Transportation Commission extended the 91 Express Lanes east from their previous terminus at the Orange–Riverside county line to the I-15 interchange in Corona; this project started in 2014 and opened on March 20, 2017.[49] Once completed, both Orange and Riverside County transportation agencies co-manage the 91 Express Lanes.[50][51]