A $3.75 run to the border

Down in San Diego County, officials are building what would be Southern California fourth toll road, a 12-mile route through the Chula Vista area. It will cost you:

Motorists will pay up to $3.75 a trip to use the first toll road in San Diego County and only the fourth tollway in California. Construction began in September 2003 on the $820-million South Bay Expressway, which will open as early as June. The toll spans 12 1/2 miles on state Route 125, from state Route 54 in Spring Valley to state Route 905 near the U.S.-Mexico border. It aims to ease congestion in Chula Vista, a growing city of 230,000 people sandwiched between downtown San Diego and the U.S.- Mexico border. Rates will vary depending on the length of road traveled and the size of the vehicle, according to South Bay Expressway Ltd. Partnership. The base tolls will range from 75 cents for a short trip to $3.50 for the full stretch of road for drivers using the FasTrak payment system with a two-axle car or sport utility vehicles. The base tolls for cash-paying customers will be higher, ranging from $2 to $3.75 a trip.

Here's a map of the expressway (with the perky tagline: "Put the fun back in driving!").

Meanwhile, Orange County's tollroads are getting a boost from... Costco! Says the Register:

A  partnership between the county's toll roads and Costco has resulted in thousands of new accounts. The program, now at 21 stores in Orange, Los Angeles, San Diego, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, exceeded expectations, officials said. And now, in order to continue the program, the agency must buy 40,000 additional transponders. "It's a great problem to have," said Frank Barbagallo, deputy director for toll compliance at the Transportation Corridor Agencies. "That tells us we are doing our job." Last week, two agency committees approved a request for $754,374 in additional transponders. The full board is expected to approve the item today.