FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 18, 2025
Latisha Townsend – Communications Director, Supervisor Foley
(714) 559-8364 | Latisha.Townsend@ocgov.com
OCTA Marks 30 Years of 91 Express Lanes: A Model for Innovation, Reliability and Regional Mobility
The 91 Express Lanes have helped millions of users who count on reliable, time-saving trips to spend less time in traffic and more time doing the things most important to them, while helping mobility for all
ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA – Thirty years after the 91 Express Lanes first opened to drivers as the nation’s first privately operated toll road, the Orange County Transportation Authority is marking the anniversary of a transportation milestone that has transformed mobility along one of Southern California’s most critical travel corridors.
“The 91 Express Lanes demonstrate how innovative transportation solutions deliver real benefits for the communities we serve,” said OCTA Director Katrina Foley. “For 30 years, this corridor helped millions of drivers save time and boosted our regional economy by reinvesting toll revenue into critical freeway, street, and transit improvements. Through smart policy and public stewardship, we continue improving quality of life for everyone traveling through Orange County.”
As part of the 30th anniversary celebration, OCTA is hosting a limited-time promotion:
- Between Dec. 21 and Jan. 3, OCTA will randomly select 30 users who travel the Express Lanes in Orange County (and are 91 Express Lanes account holders in good standing) to receive a $100 credit applied directly to their accounts for future trips on the Orange County segment of the facility. Simply driving the express lanes with a 91 Express Lanes transponder will enter users for a chance to win the credit (to be applied in January). View official rules at 91ExpressLanes.com.
Originally launched as a pioneering public-private partnership on Dec. 27, 1995, the 91 Express Lanes introduced the world to all-electronic tolling and congestion-management pricing. Just over seven years later in January 2003, OCTA purchased the 10-mile facility in Orange County, ending a private non-compete clause and shifting the once-experimental project into a highly successful public operation that continues to serve as a national and global model.
Since opening, drivers have made approximately 397 million trips on the 91 Express Lanes, underscoring the facility’s enduring role in providing a faster, more predictable option for commuters navigating the heavily traveled SR-91 corridor.
And since 2006, OCTA and its partners have invested more than $2.2 billion in toll revenue for improvements throughout the SR-91 corridor, enhancing freeways, interchanges, local streets, and transit options that benefit everyone who travels through the 91 corridor whether or not they choose to take the Express Lanes.
A Turning Point in 2003: Public Ownership, Public Benefit
OCTA’s 2003 purchase of the 91 Express Lanes for approximately $208 million eliminated restrictions that had prevented improvements to the adjacent general-purpose lanes. With those barriers removed, OCTA and the Riverside County Transportation Commission (RCTC) began making long-needed upgrades to one of the region’s busiest travel corridors.
The 91 Express Lanes were the first in the world to fully deploy electronic transponders and congestion-based pricing – strategies now widely adopted across the country and internationally. Under OCTA’s leadership, the system has continued to earn praise for financial stability, operational excellence, and its ability to adapt to changing regional travel needs. The lanes maintain strong credit ratings, including an AA- rating from S&P Global Ratings.
The success of the Express Lanes in Orange County also spurred the $1.4 billion extension by RCTC in 2017, adding 8 miles of tolled capacity into Riverside County and further improving travel reliability for the region.
“OCTA’s partnership with RCTC has been essential to delivering solutions that reflect how people travel throughout the region for work, school, and family,” said OCTA CEO Darrell E. Johnson. “The Express Lanes have become a model for how strategic investments and regional collaboration can support a better everyday experience for drivers.”
For more information on the 91 Express Lanes, visit 91ExpressLanes.com. To learn more about how toll revenues are reinvested along the corridor, visit octa.net/91TollsAtWork.
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Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley was elected to the Board of Supervisors in 2022 to represent the newly established District 5, which includes the cities of Aliso Viejo, Costa Mesa, Dana Point, a large portion of Irvine, Laguna Beach, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Woods, Newport Beach, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, as well as the unincorporated areas of Coto de Caza, Emerald Bay, Ladera Ranch, Las Flores, Rancho Mission Viejo, Stonecliffe and Wagon Wheel. This is her second term on the Board of Supervisors, where she previously served District 2.
Vice Chair Foley’s 2025 Board appointments include:
Chair – Orange County Housing Finance Trust,
Orange County Audit Oversight Committee,
Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA),
Vice Chair – OCTA Legislative and Communications Committee, Regional Transportation Committee, Los Angeles – San Diego – San Luis Obispo (LOSSAN) Rail Corridor Agency, Transportation Corridor Agency (TCA), TCA Joint Capital Improvements and Projects Committee, San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) Community Engagement Panel,
Co-Chair – Spent Fuel Solutions Coalition,
Orange County Public Libraries Advisory Board, Coastal Greenbelt Authority, Newport Bay and South Orange County Watershed Executive Committees, Ocean Institute, Orange County Community Corrections
Partnership (OCCCP), Santa Ana River Flood Control Protection Agency,
and the Orange County Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council.
