Chula Vista Mayor Presses SANDAG to Retire South Bay Expressway Debt and End Tolls

Chula Vista Mayor Mary Casillas Salas is urging the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) to use its option to pay off the debt on the State Route 125 toll road in 2027, a step that would make the road free for commuters.

The South Bay Expressway, which opened in 2007, is a ten-mile stretch of SR 125 running from Otay Mesa Road near State Route 905 to State Route 54. It is the only toll road in San Diego County.

SANDAG bought the SR 125 franchise from creditors, among them the U.S. Department of Transportation, after the road's operator went bankrupt in December 2011. Caltrans owns the expressway and SANDAG leases it. Day-to-day operations are governed by the Amended and Restated Development Franchise Agreement with the State of California, and the road is due to revert to Caltrans in November 2042.

SANDAG has already taken steps to ease the cost of the road. In 2012 it lowered tolls by 24 to 40 percent. Five years later its board cut the total debt service on SR 125 by refinancing an infrastructure loan through the sale of fixed-rate revenue bonds.

Salas has spent the past few years asking SANDAG staff about the expressway and looking for a way to pay off the $172 million still owed by 2027. According to a city staff presentation, SANDAG would need $33 million in 2027 to finance a bond call.

SANDAG discussed the expressway at a Jan. 28 meeting. There, Salas conveyed the unanimous support of Chula Vista's City Council members for the effort.

The mayor acknowledged that the goal will not be quick or simple. “Even though we are pushing for this, it’s still going to take a lot of time, a lot of political effort, and a lot of collaboration with other mayors in the county to get tolls off the roads,” Salas said.

Supporters point to the road's role in the regional economy. The expressway links the county's only commercial port of entry and Otay Mesa, the largest area of industrial-zoned land in San Diego County, to the regional freeway network. On that basis, the city argues that eliminating the tolls would benefit the region, the state and the nation.

A city staff report also says the existing tolls place an undue and disproportionate burden on South Bay users. It adds that they hinder Chula Vista's economic development work, including efforts to attract and retain businesses.