The Boards of Directors of the San Joaquin Hills (SJHTCA) and Foothill/Eastern (F/ETCA) Transportation Corridor Agencies, approved budgets totaling $342.8 million – $140.7 million for SJHTCA and $202.1 million for F/ETCA – to fund operations and debt service on bonds issued to build the roads, enhance customer service and advance initiatives and capital improvement projects for the 73, 133, 241 and 261 Toll Roads for the upcoming fiscal year. Fiscal Year 2019 (FY19) begins July 1, 2018.
The FY19 budgets reflect continued year-over-year ridership and revenue growth.
“More people are choosing to drive our roads every day and Orange County’s transportation infrastructure has benefited greatly over the years from the value The Toll Roads provide,” said Mike Kraman CEO of the Transportation Corridor Agencies (TCA). “We are entering FY19 following five consecutive years of strong growth and our finances have never been better condition, as evidenced by recent bond rating upgrades, strong liquidity and growing reserve fund balances.”
In FY19, transactions and toll revenue are projected to increase by 2.1 percent and 2.8 percent, respectively, for SJHTCA; and 3.1 and 3.5 percent, respectively, for F/ETCA. Currently, more than 330,000 daily transactions are recorded on the 51-mile toll road system that represents 20 percent of Orange County’s highway system and is the largest toll road network in California.
“Toll financing has allowed this critical transportation infrastructure to be built in Orange County and TCA continues to bring much-needed traffic relief to Southern California drivers every day,” Kraman said. “TCA’s solid financial health and continued growth in ridership, reflect the system’s value to Orange County’s transportation network.”
The FY19 budgets provide funding for:
- Constructing a bridge overcrossing at Oso Parkway to enhance mobility by allowing cars to safely travel to and from the new Los Patrones Parkway and the 241 Toll Road
- Growing cash reserves to protect against economic downturns and to allow for future capital project financing
- Planning for improved customer service and operations for our 1.2 million accountholders including the transition to 6C tolling technology along with a streamlining of customer account options
- With TCA as the sponsoring agency, initiating the formal environmental review process, in partnership with Caltrans, for the South County Traffic Relief Project
Click here to read the F/ETCA FY19 Budget (PDF) (Opens in a new window) and SJHTCA FY19 Budget (PDF) (Opens in a new window) .
