If it's too expensive to build new roads............... How do these guys make a profit doing it? Could it be that they can manage a $2.4 billion project with 50 people, while it takes WA DOT that many people to lobby the legislature?

TCA Accomplishments & Awards

Praised for its public/private partnership approach, TCA takes private sector business acumen and applies it to public projects to ensure efficiencies that make economic sense. TCA successfully implemented the concept of design/build construction. Two of the country's largest design/build road transportation contracts resulted in the completion of the San Joaquin Hills Toll Road under budget and three months ahead of schedule and the Eastern Toll Road as much as 14 months ahead of schedule. The final portion of the TCA Toll Road network, the Foothill-South Toll Road, is currently in the preliminary design phase. This final portion will complete TCA's 67-mile Toll Road network.

TCA's projects are distinguished by FasTrak; an advanced, high-tech automated toll collection system. This user-friendly system enables motorists to pay tolls while maintaining highway speed.

TCA's commitment to working with natural resource agencies to develop innovative environmental mitigation has resulted in award-winning programs to offset construction impacts and preserve ecologically sensitive areas. $150 million has gone toward environmental programs designed to compensate for impacts of construction.

TCA manages more than $2.4 billion dollars in projects with a staff of less than 50, guaranteeing efficient, streamlined processes that make each project a success. Through a unique agreement with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), the state assumes ownership and maintenance of The Toll Roads once the roads are built and open to the public. Established with a specific mission, TCA has a set timetable and a plan to go out of business when the work is done. TCA will dissolve under a unique "sunset clause" when all the construction bonds are repaid http://www.tcagencies.com/about/accomplish.html

History In the 1980's, Orange County elected officials and transportation planners began to study alternative ways to fund road improvements due to the significant decrease in traditional state and federal transportation funding programs. It was determined that innovative financing measures would be needed if the San Joaquin Hills, Foothill and Eastern Toll Roads were to be built. A development impact fee program was adopted based upon the concept that those who receive benefit from the Toll Roads should pay a portion of the cost. The group also determined that an agency separate from the county government and other transportation entities should be created to oversee planning, design, financing and construction activities. The formation of the two joint powers agencies in 1986 allowed for direct representation of county supervisorial districts and cities within the area of benefit of each toll road.

Under state legislation, each Agency continues to exist until the payment of all debt service relating to the construction of the toll road is complete. When the constructionbonds are repaid, the toll roads will become free facilities and the Agencies will cease to exist.

Why are they tollways? Soon after the Agencies were created, funding plans for the construction program were re-examined. Early plans anticipated that 48 percent of the construction revenues would come from fees on new development within the areas of benefit and 52 percent would come from traditional state and federal transportation funding programs. However, as traditional government funding diminished, the idea of making the roads toll roads until the revenue bonds were repaid took root and grew.

In September 1987, the state legislature approved legislation (SB 1413) giving the Transportation Corridor Agencies the authority to construct the roads as toll facilities and to issue bonds backed by future toll and development impact fee revenues. As they are constructed, the roads are deeded to the State of California (Caltrans) for highway maintenance and ownership. The TCA, through its contractor, Lockheed Martin IMS, operates the toll collection system.

-- Mark Stilson (mark842@hotmail.com), January 12, 2000

Answers

Amazing how these people can build a freeway, collect tolls, and pay it off over 20-30 years with a fare of about 13 cents a mile when transit takes at least 48 cents a mile in operating expenses AFTER they have bought the buses, and while they are tearing up roads that they dont have to pay for.

http://www.tollroad.com/cgi-bin/calc/sjtollcalc.cgi

-- (mark842@hotmail.com), January 12, 2000.

You are actually holding TCA up as a success story? Wow. I suggest you read some other sources besides their own propaganda.

"The other thing that got our public/private mojo working last week was the news that the Transportation Corridor Agencies (TCA) board has green-lighted a plan to refinance the ostensibly private $1.75 billion Foothill/Eastern toll roads project. Why? Because ridership will reportedly be 22 percent less than originally forecast over the next 40 years, resulting in 43 percent less revenue. The time over which motorists must pay tolls will be extended up to five yearsto 2040under the plan.

According to the Times Orange County, TCA board members actually praised the lowered figures. Yeah, that happens all the time in corporate boardrooms. "Gosh, mammoth stockholders, we dont know what we were smoking when we cooked up that first set of numbers, but youll be earning 43 percent less than we told you and serving 22 percent fewer customers. But well play with the math, and everything will be peachy again. Honest."

If the TCA were truly run like a business, heads would be rolling like Michelins down Santa Anas Flower Street about now.

Of course, a constant theme in the Weekly has been that toll-road ridership and revenue figures have always been much too optimistic. You can imagine what a trip it was for us to hear the same toll-road officials who once pooh-poohed our stories eating their words like stoners at a Shakeys Bunch-a-Lunch. Even more bizarre was the agencies excuse for the shortfalls: according to The Orange County Register, they failed to account for the states 1990-94 recession when they made their projections in 1995."

http://www.ocweekly.com/ink/99/45/clockwork-coker.shtml

"When the first of the toll roads, San Joaquin Hills, opened in 1997, the TCA predicted that 100,000 cars would travel some part of its 17 miles each day. Sadly for Woollett, less than half that number turned up, and the toll road began clocking daily losses of $100,000."

"When the road building began, TCA estimated that the toll roads would cost $350 million. That number quickly soared to $500 million, then to $750 million and then to $1.5 billion. Under Woollett, more recent calculations suggest the final price tag--$5 billion--will be 14 times greater than original estimates."

http://www.ocweekly.com/ink/99/15/news-swaim.shtml

"The latest Transportation Corridor Agencies (TCA) figures indicate bonds make up 86 percent of the roads budgetmaking the roads potentially the next great bankruptcy disaster in the county. In fact, displaying their inimitable talent for numbers, TCA officials recently refinanced $1.5 billion in toll-road bonds into $1.75 billion in bonds. Now county drivers will have to wait until 2040 to ride the roads for freeassuming the agencies can make the bond payments, which gradually increase as time goes by."

http://www.ocweekly.com/ink/00/13/news.shtml

"The San Joaquin Hills toll roadlike all toll roadsgets its revenues from drivers. The drivers pay tolls, which pay bondsbonds that make up 86 percent of all toll-road financing (up from 77 percent 10 months ago), according to the latest TCA figures. By relying so much on bonds, TCA ends up spreading out the debt until (as in the case of the San Joaquin Hills toll road) the cost of the road balloons from a projected $350 million in the 1980s to more than $5 billion.

In other words, everything works if the road is popular. Unfortunately for the TCA (and state taxpayers), the road is a flop. According to the TCA, there were just 69,508 average daily transactions for the week ending April 25. That figure is typical for the past six monthsits also 27,000 less than TCA officials originally forecast.

All this despite a slick cross-promotional campaign between the TCA and the Los Angeles Times. In the past year, the TCA has run quarter- page ads in the Times telling readers to "get a life" and enjoy a "stress-free commute with a great view" while drivers stopping at toll booths draped with massive Times banners received fliers saying, "The Times Orange County invites you to jump on the San Joaquin toll road and check things out for yourself."

Growing debt, poor construction, Times ads and more public financing who wouldnt want to support that?"

http://www.ocweekly.com/ink/99/37/news-pignataro.shtml

-- BB (bbquax@hotmail.com), January 12, 2000.

"According to the Times Orange County, TCA board members actually praised the lowered figures. Yeah, that happens all the time in corporate boardrooms. "Gosh, mammoth stockholders, we dont know what we were smoking when we cooked up that first set of numbers, but youll be earning 43 percent less than we told you and serving 22 percent fewer customers. But well play with the math, and everything will be peachy again. Honest." " Dang- they didn't do any better than Portlan MAX. Except of course that the TAXPAYERS paid for MAX. Kind of makes you wonder how the Narrows Bridge is going to work out, doesn't it?

-- (craigcar@crosswinds.net), January 12, 2000.

Toll collection facilities obstruct traffic and create congestion through the physical act of collecting tolls. After the public is sold on new roads and freeways intended to relieve present and future traffic congestion, they will still be stuck with delays if toll collection is allowed to be developed. While tolls appear to be direct funding of certain roads, the net revenue from toll collection operations do not justify the delays due to obstruction of traffic.

Even with a FasTrak electronic toll collection system, there will still be the need for physical toll collection due to out of state vehicles or motorists who do not want or cannot participate. Result: continued congestion.

Tolls were a device invented by politicians to obtain additional free revenue and keep a few people employed in outrageously high salary positions. The proposed second Tacoma Narrows Bridge span is being sold as congestion relief but still features toll collection producing continued congestion. It's apparent the California toll road example you mention is clearly another government boondoggle: unrealistic expectations based on revenue estimates which never materialize. In the end the traffic situation does not improve and taxpayers lose.

-- James Andrews (jimfive@hotmail.com), January 13, 2000.

When I was living in PA I read in the paper that the state got some kind of tax/fee rider on the tolls charged on the toll roads.

I do not know what is was for. When I was there the PA turnpike was about an avg of 75c per toll booth. There was one stretch though that did not have any toll booths, you paid when you got off the freeway. There was no traffic obstruction there.

-- Dan Campbell (dila813@hotmail.com), January 14, 2000.