CHULA VISTA, Calif. (KGTV) – Some South Bay and San Diego leaders on Thursday called for the immediate end to tolls on state Route 125.
Chula Vista Mayor John McCann, Chula Vista Councilwoman Carolina Chavez, San Diego City Councilwoman Vivan Moreno, and Assemblyman David Alvarez claimed South Bay residents are paying too much for the troubled road.
“South County residents were promised traffic relief through the acquisition of state Route 125, but instead, we were handed a toll road that has failed to deliver the benefits that we were assured,” Moreno said at a morning press conference.
Alvarez said, “South County residents are fed up with this fundamental unfairness and SANDAG owes it to them to remove this toll.”
He then added, “After several audits, it has become clear that SANDAG is unable to accurately charge tolls.”
McCann said, “When the toll is removed, it will decrease traffic congestion on the [Interstate] 805 and local roads. It will decrease millions of dollars of road repair costs for local roads, and it will help our emissions by allowing people to have less commute time.”
San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) officials have already started the process of potentially removing tolls, allotting $400,000 from their budget for it.
ABC 10News learned it will take a year for Caltrans to conduct a project initiation document and a preliminary environmental analysis report.
Meanwhile, there is potential for relief after a series of issues related to the tolling tech companies operating the only toll road in San Diego County.
An audit released earlier this month found a "wasteful use of public resources and a lack of transparency and accountability" in managing the freeway.
An audit released in March found that Etan, the tolling tech company that used to operate the toll road, was faulty in its accounting. It also charged 48,000 drivers incorrectly, to the tune of $90,000.
But earlier this month, SANDAG’s Office of the Independent Performance Auditor revealed that before the SANDAG board was made aware of the severity of Etan's performance issues, a contract had already been quickly awarded to another tolling tech company: Deloitte and A-to-Be.
Chula Vista City Councilwoman and SANDAG board member Carolina Chavez said SR-125 urgently needs to become toll-free for South Bay residents and commuters.
"We've tasked our new management to return with ideas to retire the tolls as soon as it's financially feasible. We're expecting them to return with these options tomorrow," she said.
The SANDAG Board of Directors is expected to meet to discuss the matter on Friday.
