Toll Road Operators out of Gas

The recession has taken its toll on operators of San Diego County's lone tollway.
     
South Bay Expressway LP and partner California Transportation Ventures filed in San Diego for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday.
     
The companies completed the nine-mile South Bay Expressway -- which connects Spring Valley with Otay Mesa -- less than three years ago, to much fanfare. But the building boom slowed to a halt and traffic volume was only a third of projections.
     
The court documents cite the economic and mortgage meltdown as well as a halt in development for lowering traffic projections. Instead of the projected 60,000 vehicles daily by 2009, the tollway average only 23,000.
     
The expressway cost $843 million.

Trips within Chula Vista for two-axle vehicles cost 75 cents, while longer trips are $2.00 to $2.75, and trips from Spring Valley to Otay Mesa cost $3.85.