Why this matters
Chula Vista, where much of the South Bay Expressway is located, is one of San Diego County’s fastest-growing cities. Leaders have pointed to worsening congestion on the interstates in their repeated calls to lift the toll.
Transportation officials are expected to soon update local leaders on their ongoing study of whether to make the South Bay Expressway toll-free.
Caltrans and the San Diego Association of Governments are evaluating the feasibility of ending the fee to use the 10-mile span of State Route 125. More than 50,000 drivers daily use the expressway that runs from Spring Valley to the U.S.-Mexico border, and multiple elected officials in the South Bay have continued to call for lifting the toll.
The two agencies will update the SANDAG board on a preliminary analysis “in the coming months,” a spokesperson told inewsource. Staff is also working on reports — including the cost of needed repairs and upgrades, and an environmental analysis — that are required if SANDAG were to relinquish rights of the expressway back to Caltrans.
A costly problem standing in their way? SANDAG still owes more than $155 million tied to purchasing the road in 2011. It projects as much as $13.8 million in annual payments through 2043.
That debt figure doesn’t include the potential cost of improvements that SANDAG would be required to cover before turning the expressway over to Caltrans.
Residents and Chula Vista leaders have said the toll should be lifted, pointing to traffic on interstates 5 and 805 that has worsened alongside the South Bay’s rapid growth.
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One of the companies was paid by SANDAG to manage the contract for the bungled South Bay Expressway toll collection project.
SANDAG’s management of the expressway has also come under fire. A 2024 internal audit found that senior leaders at the agency failed to disclose problems with the toll collections system and took shortcuts to approve a contract for a new vendor. The auditors also flagged potential favoritism and lax contracting practices with a separate firm hired to manage the system.
This year, the agency entered into a partnership with the Southern California-based Transportation Corridor Agency to establish a new back office system for local toll roads, which will handle payment processes, customer portals and reports. SANDAG will still directly staff and manage the toll system and maintain outreach and marketing. The move could save the agency up to $2 million annually.
Data shows that the expressway is being used more: Traffic on SR-125 increased by 14.6% between the 2024 and 2025 fiscal years, bringing in an additional $7.3 million in revenue.
Drivers who use the road pay from 50 cents to $3.50, depending on the distance. Using FasTrak, drivers can save up to 80% of that, according to the South Bay Expressway website.
SANDAG and Caltrans together plan to spend $500,000 over the next three years on the study about removing the toll. The work will be covered by toll revenue.
Type of Content
News: Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
