A San Diego regional government organization has agreed to purchase the bankrupt State Route 125 toll road near the U.S.-Mexico border for approximately $345 million.
Opened in November 2007, the 10-mile toll road in southern San Diego County was described initially as an example for Los Angeles and other traffic-beset regions on how a private-public partnership could build new roads and ease congestion.
Instead it became a cautionary tale about risky assumptions, and the stubborn opposition of motorists to paying tolls. In March 2010 the road’s operator filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, noting that traffic counts were less than 50% of projections.
Tolls were based on the size of vehicle and distance of the trip. For most cars, a short trip has cost 85 cents, the entire 10-miles, $4.
Those toll prices don’t seem that much different than what we pay in DFW, but I don’t see people really getting frustrated with tolls in this area for some reason.