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Toll Road Legislation Moves Forward in Sacramento
The Commission has sponsored an Assembly Bill, AB 1954, authored by local Assemblyman Kevin Jeffries, which will provide RCTC with the authority to construct High Occupancy Toll (HOT) Lanes on Interstate 15. The bill was passed by the Assembly Transportation Committee on April 14, 2008, on a unanimous 12-0 vote and is now in the Assembly Appropriations Committee before it will be heard by the full State Assembly. The Commission is also sponsoring SB 1316, to extend the SR-91 Express Lanes into Riverside County. This bill was jointly sponsored by the RCTC with the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA). The bill was passed by the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee on April 15, 2008. It is sponsored by Senator Lou Correa. This planned extension of the SR-91 Express Lanes will maintain the public interest protections that were critical in the transfer of the original express lane franchise out of private ownership. If passed, SB 1316 will also authorize RCTC to develop the express lanes under public ownership and operation in compliance with State and Federal standards. Toll revenues would be required to repay the bonds to pay for the project and reinvest in improvements to the SR-91 corridor. The bill also synchronizes OCTA’s tolling authority with RCTC’s tolling authority. This extended term also allows OCTA to finance a direct connector between the SR-91 and the SR-241 and other major corridor improvements. Both bills have been received with little or no opposition. The tolling lanes will be in addition to the High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes and general purpose lanes currently in the preliminary engineering and environmental permitting phase. |
