U.S. Funds Sought for Foothill Toll Road

Operators of Orange County’s largest toll road system decided Thursday to seek $100 million in federal funds to help build the controversial Foothill South extension, a 16-mile tollway from eastern Mission Viejo to Interstate 5.

Board members for the Transportation Corridor Agencies said they are applying for the six-year federal authorization to strengthen finance plans for the highway, which has been scaled back from eight to four lanes. The estimated cost is about $800 million.

“If the Foothill proceeds, this could decrease the amount of money we would have to borrow, bring taxes back to Orange County, and possibly lower tolls,” said Lake Forest Mayor Pro Tem Peter Herzog, chairman of the board of directors for the Foothill-Eastern Transportation Corridor.

If the money is approved, it would mark the first time federal funds would be used to build one of the agencies’ toll roads. The agency traditionally has sold bonds to investors to raise money for its projects.

The TCA, which is based in Irvine, operates 51 miles of tollways in Orange County, including the Foothill Eastern corridor, the San Joaquin Hills corridor, and a short stretch of Highway 133.

If built, the Foothill South would complete the TCA’s toll road network.

A variety of proposals are under study, although the TCA’s preferred alternative would start at Oso Parkway, veer to the east, then head through Camp Pendleton and San Onofre State Beach.

The federal authorization is “just in case, because we don’t know how much the road is going to cost or how much we are going to need,” TCA spokeswoman Clare Climaco said.

Project critics, including a coalition of environmental groups, question whether federal funds should be used for a toll road when the U.S. government is facing a mounting deficit.

But TCA officials say applying for the federal authorization has nothing to do with the potential financial problems facing the San Joaquin Hills toll road, which has not met traffic and revenue projections.

The agency now is studying whether the San Joaquin Hills should be merged with the Foothill-Eastern toll road and the whole system refinanced. The TCA’s two boards of directors also want to apply for another $15 million in federal funds to buy land and pay for protection measures involving several environmental programs in the county.

TCA officials say valuable wetlands and wildlife habitat need to be preserved as the county grows. But environmentalists question whether the TCA should be allowed to influence the county’s conservation planning areas when the Foothill South will run through some lands that are to be protected.