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HomeMy WebLinkAbout00 - Non-Agenda Item - HandoutRECEIVED AFTER AGENDA PRINTED ITEM NO. DATE: 0 Transportation Corridor AgenceSTM A& TRA NSPOR7-A7-ICN CORRIDOR AGENCIES Barbie Daly Director, Government & Legislative gilairs 125 PACIFICA, SUITE 100 IRVINE, CA 92618-3304 TEL: 949/754-3466 FAX: 949/754-3467 E MAIL: bda1y9theto11roads.com www. thetollroads. com Facebook, com/The TollRoads TCA History c& Legislative Authority As Orange County continued to experience population and economic growth through the 1970's and 1980's, the need to provide additional road facilities became evident. Government and business leaders, along with builders, developers and property owners, sought ways to address funding for these infrastructure needs in Orange County. In 1984, the California Legislature passed AB 2431, which later was established as Government Code Sec. 66484.3 that provided under the existing Joint Exercise of Powers Act (JPA) and the Marks -Roos Act (which expanded JPA law), for the County of Orange and Orange County cities, which were within designated areas of benefit, to form the Transportation Corridor Agencies (TCA), for the purposes of planning, financing, constructing, maintaining, managing and operating thoroughfares and bridges. Government Code Sec. 66484.3 further allowed for the County and these member cities to impose a development impact fee within that area of benefit that could be used by the JPA for purposes of financing these transportation facilities. TCA's powers and authority come from four sources: (1) the JPA Act, which generally authorizes the formation of joint powers authorities; (2) TCA's enabling legislation, AB 2431, Government Code Sec. 66484.3, which was specifically enacted and amended for the purpose of authorizing the County of Orange and cities within the County, through the TCA, to take those actions necessary for the construction of major thoroughfares in the County, including issuing bonds and imposing development impact fees, (3) the El Dorado Toll Tunnel Authority Act; and (4) the Marks -Roos Local Bond Pooling Act of 1984 ("Marks -Roos Act"), Government Code Sec. 6584. The Foothill/Eastern Transportation Corridor Agency (F/ETCA) and the San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor Agency (SJHTCA) were then established in 1986 by the County of Orange and the respective cities. These JPA -wide development impact fees were to be combined with other, traditional transportation funding to develop the necessary infrastructure. Those other state and federal sources did not readily materialize. Additional legislation was passed in 1987, SB 1413 and SB 1415, which further clarified the TCA use of development impact fees, provided for tolling authority and established revenue bond authority. SB 1435 and SB 1437 were passed in 1989, which provided TCA with authority to include certain financing costs in setting the amount of the development impact fees. All of these moves combined with the unique authority provided through various pieces of legislation, proved to be a successful formula for the TCA's to finance the development and construction of the toll road system seen today in Orange County. San Joaquin Hills Foothill/Eastern Transportation Transportation Corridor Agency Corridor Agency chair.Transportation Corridor Agencies- chair. Fred Minagar Ed Sachs Laguna Niguel Mission Viejo TCA History c& Legislative Authority As Orange County continued to experience population and economic growth through the 1970's and 1980's, the need to provide additional road facilities became evident. Government and business leaders, along with builders, developers and property owners, sought ways to address funding for these infrastructure needs in Orange County. In 1984, the California Legislature passed AB 2431, which later was established as Government Code Sec. 66484.3 that provided under the existing Joint Exercise of Powers Act (JPA) and the Marks -Roos Act (which expanded JPA law), for the County of Orange and Orange County cities, which were within designated areas of benefit, to form the Transportation Corridor Agencies (TCA), for the purposes of planning, financing, constructing, maintaining, managing and operating thoroughfares and bridges. Government Code Sec. 66484.3 further allowed for the County and these member cities to impose a development impact fee within that area of benefit that could be used by the JPA for purposes of financing these transportation facilities. TCA's powers and authority come from four sources: (1) the JPA Act, which generally authorizes the formation of joint powers authorities; (2) TCA's enabling legislation, AB 2431, Government Code Sec. 66484.3, which was specifically enacted and amended for the purpose of authorizing the County of Orange and cities within the County, through the TCA, to take those actions necessary for the construction of major thoroughfares in the County, including issuing bonds and imposing development impact fees, (3) the El Dorado Toll Tunnel Authority Act; and (4) the Marks -Roos Local Bond Pooling Act of 1984 ("Marks -Roos Act"), Government Code Sec. 6584. The Foothill/Eastern Transportation Corridor Agency (F/ETCA) and the San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor Agency (SJHTCA) were then established in 1986 by the County of Orange and the respective cities. These JPA -wide development impact fees were to be combined with other, traditional transportation funding to develop the necessary infrastructure. Those other state and federal sources did not readily materialize. Additional legislation was passed in 1987, SB 1413 and SB 1415, which further clarified the TCA use of development impact fees, provided for tolling authority and established revenue bond authority. SB 1435 and SB 1437 were passed in 1989, which provided TCA with authority to include certain financing costs in setting the amount of the development impact fees. All of these moves combined with the unique authority provided through various pieces of legislation, proved to be a successful formula for the TCA's to finance the development and construction of the toll road system seen today in Orange County. Finances TCA is rated investment grade by all three major ratings agencies — S&P, Moody's and Fitch, has record levels of customers — ridership has increased 20 percent since 2015 to 101 million annually, $380 million in annual toll revenue and $1 billion in reserves. As recently as this summer Standard and Poor's upgraded the bond ratings for both Foothill/Eastern and San Joaquin Hills Agencies to A-. Regarding the San Joaquin Hills corridor ratings increase S&P stated, "the road's market position is strong, in our opinion. It operates in an area with a population that is road -network reliant; thus, its role as a congestion reliever with surrounding free alternatives that are among the most heavily -trafficked and congested in the country, leads us to believe that [it is] becoming a virtual requirement for drivers who depend on time savings." Foothill/Eastern System: • Outstanding principal is $2.4 billion. • Annual debt payments are well below annual projected revenues that assume only small 2% inflationary toll rate increases and are scheduled as annual principal and interest payments ranging from $109 million in 2018 to $225 million in 2039, staying flat through 2043. • Payments drop to $205 million in 2044 and remain at that level through the final maturity date of 2053. San Joaquin Hills System: Outstanding principal is $2.2 billion. Annual debt payments are well below annual projected revenues that assume only small 2% inflationary toll rate increases and are scheduled as annual principal and interest payments ranging from $107 million in 2018 to $186 million in 2040, staying flat through 2049. Payments drop to $152 million in the final maturity date in 2050. Like most toll revenue bond financings that use their advance refunding opportunity several years after construction, SJHTCA advance refunded its original 1993 bonds in 1997 and F/ETCA refunded its 1995 original bonds in 1999. In 2013 and 2014, F/ETCA and SJHTCA, respectively, took advantage of the extremely favorable low interest rates and refinanced the Agencies' debt. This refinancing structured the annual debt payments to be much lower than the annual revenue projections. The refinancing created margins that protect against future economic downturns and provided cash flow for future projects in its area of benefit. Transactions and revenues have exceeded projections every year following the refinancing's of both Agencies. In 2013, the California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission (CDIAC) audit conducted by the state treasurer's office concurred with TCA's decision to refinance its debt. c 600 0 500 400 300 200 100 0 400 C: 0 300 — Series 2013C Junior Fixed Rate Bonds — Series 2013B Senior Term Rate Bonds — Series 2013A & Series 2015A Senior Fixed Rate Bonds Adjusted Net Toll Revenues 2019 2021 2023 2025 2027 2029 2031 2033 2035 2037 2039 2041 2043 2045 2047 2049 2051 2053 Series 2014B Junior Fixed Rate Bonds Series 2014A Senior Fixed Rate Bonds Series 1997A Senior Fixed Rate Bonds Adj. Net Toll Revenues (no DIFs) 200 100 0 2019 2021 2023 2025 2027 2029 2031 2033 2035 2037 2039 2041 2043 2045 2047 2049 TCA's bond principal has increased over time as originally anticipated in the initial finance transactions because some of the bonds are capital appreciation bonds (CABs), which are commonly used project -based finance tools that monetize anticipated growth in revenues. While the majority of TCA bonds are current interest bonds, CABs are useful because they do not require payment of current interest and are scheduled so that the interest adds to the principal and is paid when the bonds mature. This allows for structuring annual debt payments that align with annual revenues. The use of CABs has always been well-planned in TCA financings. TCA's debt structures include known amounts of interest and principal payments each year through the final maturity of all bonds. There are no "balloon" payments in the very manageable annual debt payments. TCA has utilized its 20 years of operating experience to structure the debt to match realistic revenue projections that are only based on the natural growth in transactions due to the growing population and the development that has occurred as well as planned development that has already been approved, along with small inflationary toll rate increases. As a mature agency, TCA is now in a position of financial strength. TCA's innovative approach to financing thirty years ago enabled the delivery of billions of dollars of infrastructure by issuing toll revenue bonds backed only by the tolls and DIFs collected rather than by subsidizing with federal or state funding, or sales tax bonds. The vision of the leadership who formed these roads in response to the exploding population, worsening traffic congestion and shrinking government transportation funds has paid off. Development Impact Fees (RIFs): Development Impact Fees (DIFs) are not unique to TCA. All new developments are charged DIFs. Every government in California includes fees on development to fund the infrastructure necessary to support that development. In some communities, DIFs are charged to fund parks, roads, affordable housing and new school construction. In 1986, TCA received the unique ability from the State legislature for its communities of benefit to pool their DIFs to fund the transportation system infrastructure necessary to support the housing development that was planned along the TCA's corridors. Each TCA Member City voted to impose these DIFs as part of their requirements of new development within their communities because they understood the regional nature of transportation needed to support their growing communities. Governments charge DIFs once on new residential properties. Remodels do not generate additional fees unless a new unit is added. Nonresidential fees are based on square footage. If nonresidential properties are modified, only additional square footage generates a fee. If a person's home within TCA's area of benefit was built before 1986, no DIFs allocated to TCA were collected on that home. Diagram of Capital Improvements Completed ®/ All Electronic Tolling Projects To date, TCA has constructed 51 miles of roads representing 20 percent of Orange County's highway system. As a result of TCA's innovative financing, over $2 billion of infrastructure was deeded to the State of California and is part of the state highway system. In current dollars that amount increases substantially to nearly $4 billion. TCA does not own the roads. Caltrans owns the roads, and as a result, Caltrans maintains those roads. Given the significant cost TCA incurred, it is worth repeating that after the Agency planned, designed, financed, and built the roads, TCA turned the right-of-way for the roads over to the State of California in fee title as part of the state highway system. There are still significant investments that are needed by TCA to the existing system, independent of any extensions. These include over 200 lane miles of toll road widening along with a number of interchanges including the 241-91 Express Connector. Foothill/Eastern Transportation Corridor Agency Completed Projects 1. 241 Banderas Bridge Overcrossing. - This project provided a new overcrossing of the 241 Toll Road between Antonio Parkway and Santa Margarita Parkway. It was sponsored by the City of Rancho Santa Margarita to provide improved traffic circulation within the City. The F/ETCA contributed $1.22 million as its fair share of the project costs. 2. Santa Margarita Parkway On -Ramp Widening - The northbound on-ramp at this location previously narrowed to a single lane prior to merging into the mainline. This project added a second lane to the ramp to address high peak -hour traffic volumes, which also required widening the 1,500 -foot -long Arroyo Trabuco Creek Bridge. The -bridge was widened to the Ultimate Corridor configuration at a total project cost of $11.57 million. 3. Arroyo Trabuco Southbound Bridge Widening. - During construction of the Santa Margarita Parkway On -Ramp Widening project, the contractor was asked to price a similar widening of the southbound traffic structure thereby allowing both northbound and southbound structures to be widened to their Ultimate Corridor width at the same time. This would allow only one disruption of the Arroyo Trabuco Creek below the bridge. The project was designed and constructed including the addition of a second exit lane to Santa Margarita Parkway at a total project cost of $8.52 million. 4. 241 northbound widening — One additional mixed flow lane was constructed in the median of the 241 northbound from Arroyo Trabuco Creek to Bake Parkway. This project included the widening of five twin northbound and southbound bridges to their Ultimate Corridor configuration. The total project cost was $15.28 million. 5. 241 Tomato Springs Toll Plaza Third FasTrak Lanes — These lanes were added to address increasing traffic volumes and FasTrak usage at this SR 241 location. Included was a reconfiguration of the lane delineation between the toll plaza and the adjacent SR 133 Interchange to encourage FasTrak as the predominant toll payment method. The total project cost was $3.11 million. 6. Landscaping Enhancements — Two separate contracts were designed and constructed/installed on the 241 and 261 Corridors. These were completed at project costs totaling $5 million. Grant funds of $750,000 reduced the Agency's net cost by that amount. 7. Toll Plaza Water & Wastewater — Improvements to the toll plaza water and wastewater systems were completed at three mainline toll plazas on the 241, 261 and 133 Toll Roads, including one new connection to a public sewer. The total project cost was $223,000. 8. 133 Widening —One mixed flow lane was added in each direction from I-5 to 241 along with median guard rail for most of the 2.5 -mile project length. The total project cost was $5.39 million. 9. Windy Ridge FasTrak Lane Widening - The project added a third general purpose FasTrak lane in each direction within the 241 -roadway median through the Windy Ridge Mainline Toll Plaza from south of the Southern California Edison (SCE) wildlife undercrossing to north of the Windy Ridge wildlife undercrossing, a distance of 3.0 miles. Widening the southbound SCE bridge and the northbound Windy Ridge Wildlife bridge was also included in the project. 10. All -Electronic Tolling — In May 2014, the Agencies ceased collecting cash on the system. This was a multi-year process that involved each of the departments within the TCA. All -Electronic Tolling provides for license plate tolling for those that do not have a FasTrak account. 11. Wildlife Safety Fence Phases 1, 2A, and 2B — In FY 2016, Phases 1, 2A, and 2B were constructed. This 6.4 mile stretch along SR 241 from the Chapman/Santiago Canyon Road interchange to SR -91 has been completed and is expected to reduce the number of wildlife - vehicle collisions on the SR 241. 12. Toll Booth Removal Phase 1 — After completion of the conversion to All -Electronic Tolling, the remaining toll booths on the system were evaluated for removal. Construction of Phase 1 included the removal of the toll booths and related equipment on multi -lane ramps where traffic passed on both sides of the existing toll booths. Schedule for future phases has not yet been identified. San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor Agency Completed Projects 1. 73 @ Glenwood Interchange Phase I — This project included the design and construction of ramps to and from the north at Glenwood/Pacific Park Drive on the 73 Toll Road. Work was performed under a design -build contract at a total project cost of $8.50 million. Just under $6.7 million was received by the San Joaquin Hills Agency in grant funding for the project. 2. Landscaping Enhancements — A contract was completed to enhance the landscaping at interchanges along the SR 73, at a cost of $2.3 million. 3. 73 Northbound Roadway Widening — This project added a fourth lane to the northbound mainline in two locations: 1) from the former lane drop north of Aliso Viejo Parkway to north of the Laguna Canyon Road entrance ramp, a distance of 2.4 miles, and 2) from the Catalina View Mainline Toll Plaza cash lane merge, to the MacArthur Blvd. exit, a distance of 3.3 miles. 4. All -Electronic Tolling — In May 2014, the Agencies ceased collecting cash on the system. This was a multi-year process that involved each of the departments within the TCA. All -Electronic Tolling provides for license plate tolling for those that do not have a FasTrak account. 5. Toll Booth Removal Phase 1 — After completion of the conversion to All -Electronic Tolling, the remaining toll booths on the system were evaluated for removal. Construction of Phase included the removal of the toll booths and related equipment on multi -lane ramps where traffic passed on both sides of the existing toll booths. Schedule for future phases has not yet been identified. Future Challenges Orange County Transportation Authority's (OCTA) 2018 Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) and California State University, Fullerton's (CSUF) Center for Demographic Research (CDR) highlight the problem we're facing. Based on their growth projections between 2015-2040, Orange County's population will increase by 310,000 people, leading to the construction of 120,000 new homes and the creation of 275,000 new jobs to support population and housing growth. Based on these figures, additional transportation infrastructure will be critical to maintain Orange County's high quality of life and economic vitality. Ultimately, Orange County benefits from a variety of transportation resources such as federal and state funding, and OCTA's M2 program, but because of the uncertainty attached to all public funding, non- recourse toll revenue bonds provide the certainty that South Orange County needs to ensure significant traffic improvements get built. Orange County has always been on the forefront of finding solutions that meet the growing demand for roadway capacity. The county has benefitted from this collaboration and utilization of multiple funding sources. Elected leaders fought hard to create the TCA with the unique ability and authorization to access private capital that could be used to the benefit of the public. These locally controlled funds are in the form of non-recourse toll revenue bonds that are not backed by the government or tax dollars. Through this financing mechanism TCA is able to provide additional transportation options that otherwise would not be constructed. 241/91 Direct Connector The 91 freeway is one of the nation's most heavily congested corridors. A partnership between Caltrans, OCTA, TCA and RCTC is in the public's best interest as it would provide an additional opportunity for drivers to bypass the general purpose lanes by connecting directly from one tolled facility to another, which in turn eases the traffic congestion in the general purpose lanes. Recent studies indicate that today nearly 40,000 vehicles travel through the 91 Corridor between Orange County and the Inland Empire during peak commute times. By 2040, the daily number of cars in that corridor during peak commute times is expected to increase to 50,000. That means we will experience 20 percent more traffic than we do today. In addition, recently completed traffic studies by Stantec show that travel time between Interstate 55 and the McKinley Avenue exit on the 91 would decrease by 11 minutes in the general purpose lanes. Adding to that challenge is the fact that earlier this year the U.S. Census Bureau reported that Riverside County ranked No. 3 in population growth among large counties in the nation. In addition to the increasing traffic, the safety benefits of a direct connection between the two facilities must be considered as it would eliminate the need for vehicles entering the 91 from the 241 Toll Road to weave across multiple general purpose lanes to access the 91 Express Lanes, which also causes traffic to slow down. A direct connection will enhance regional connectivity, improve air quality and reduce stop -and -go traffic between the Inland Empire and Orange County. Recent actions by the three Orange County cities most impacted by the 91 congestion underscore the value to both local and regional traffic the direct connector would bring. Anaheim, Orange and Yorba Linda all passed resolutions in the summer of 2018 encouraging Caltrans, OCTA and TCA to continue project progress and not delay future phases. South County Traffic Relief Effort — Get Moviniz Orange County With Orange County's population expected to increase by 310,000 more residents between 2015-2040, resulting in an additional 120,000 homes and 275,000 new jobs, TCA is committed to identifying solutions that will relieve traffic congestion through South Orange County. In 2008, the California Coastal Commission denied a key pen -nit for the previously proposed project known as State Route 241 Foothill -South, which would have completed our region's toll highway network by connecting the 241 Toll Road with Interstate 5 south of San Clemente. TCA appealed the decision to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce who decided not to overrule the California Coastal Commission's decision. As a result, TCA was advised by the Governor's office to pursue an agreement with the environmental coalition in opposition to that alignment to determine what could and could not be done in terms of finding a solution to the regional traffic congestion. In November 2016, TCA agreed to a settlement with the Save San Onofre Coalition. This settlement agreement came after 15 years of litigation and involved 12 environmental organizations, the Attorney General, the State Parks Foundation and the Native American Heritage Commission. As a result of this agreement, TCA is now able to explore possibilities that deliver meaningful traffic relief for our region. In collaboration with Caltrans, OCTA, the County of Orange, and cities in the area of benefit, TCA has led a robust public engagement effort to seek broad input in advance of defining traffic relief alternatives to be further studied in detail through a formal environmental review. Through this comprehensive engagement effort, the purpose and fundamental objectives of the South County Traffic Relief Effort were established and defined with input and concurrence from local elected officials to address north -south regional mobility in South Orange County and accommodate regional travel demand in a manner that promotes the supporting objectives to: • Improve regional mobility by reducing congestion on 1-5 during peak commuting hours and weekends • Provide additional north -south capacity in case of traffic incidents on 1-5 • Enhance bike and pedestrian opportunities TCA's planning activities for the South County Traffic Relief Effort are in accordance with TCA's role as the sponsoring agency for the project. The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) require the study of a range of alternatives and a no - build option in the formal environmental phase. During this phase, a detailed traffic analysis, as mandated by the CEQA/NEPA process, will be conducted to determine the actual volume of traffic needing to be accommodated. Ultimately, we are confident this analysis will provide a balanced solution addressing community concerns and regional mobility.