Orange County Receives All Electric Tolling

Serving up to 250,000 drivers each day, the Orange County Toll Roads are a vital transportation link between Northern Orange County, the Inland Empire, and South Orange County. After nearly 30 years of operation, the Foothill/Eastern and San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor Agencies (TCA) discontinued cash collection on the toll roads in May 2014. Outdated tolling equipment was replaced with license plate tolling equipment allowing drivers without a FasTrack transponder to use the toll roads without stopping at a toll booth, improving traffic flow and reducing drive times.

All Electric Tolling (AET) Conversion

TCA converted all toll collection facilities along State Route 73, 133, 241, and 261 in Orange County from a cash/ electronic toll collection to an electronic tolling (AET) collection. The conversion required modifying signage, striping, tolling equipment, and facilities. The conversion removed treadles (in-pavement sensors that detect when a vehicle passes) and constructed Concrete slabs at SR 261 Irvine ranch, SR 241 Tomato Springs, SR 133 Orange Grove, SR 241 Windy Ridge, and SR 73 Catalina View. The project also realigned the northbound SR 241 on-ramp at Portola Parkway and modified road signs at all locations.

Ghirardelli’s Project Oversight

Ghirardelli provided inspection services and coordinated with TCA’s electrical contractor who installed new electrical and electronic automatic toll collections for areas that were removed. Roadwork was completed according to Caltrans specifications with Caltrans oversight.  The contractor and our team used the Caltrans Lane Closure System (LCS) and COZEEP (CHP Construction Zone Enforcement Enhancement Program) for lane closures.