A full southbound closure of the State Route 125 Toll Road between SR 54 and East H Street is planned for this weekend to accommodate the installation of new overhead tolling equipment. This includes closure of the eastbound and westbound SR 54 connectors to southbound SR 125.
Closure is scheduled from 8 p.m. on Friday, June 17, through 6 a.m. on Monday, June 20.
During this time, the following closures will be in effect:
• Southbound SR 125 from SR 54 to East H Street
• Eastbound SR 54 connector to southbound SR 125
• Westbound SR 54 connector to southbound SR 125
The installation of the new tolling equipment is part of a broader effort to make upgrades along the SR 125 Toll Road and I-15 Express Lanes. The upgraded tolling technology will be able to read newer transponder models, including switchable FasTrak Flex and sticker mounted transponders, and improve toll transactions between transponders and roadway equipment. This upgrade enables FasTrak equipment in the San Diego region to remain interoperable with partner FasTrak tolling agencies so San Diego Association of Governments’ customers can access any FasTrak toll facility across the state. Roadway enhancements also include new automated payment machines for faster cash and card on-road transactions. Detour signage will be in place to guide motorists around the closure via southbound I-805 to E H Street.
SANDAG Deputy CEO Coleen Clementson said SANDAG is the regional transportation planning agency planning and building transportation throughout the region. She said SANDAG owns is SR 125.
“The reason it is a toll road is because SANDAG purchased that from a private industry a few years ago as an alternative to travel on Interstate 805,” she said. “The tolls are what is allowing SANDAG to pay back our loan we got to purchase the roadway.”
Clementson said tolls have separate infrastructures. Toll booths, calculating toll mechanics, a back office which is the software program.
“We have installed new hardware. We are installing new software. As a result of that, we need to close a portion of the roadway, and we are going to be doing that this weekend. It is about 56 hours from Friday evening until Monday morning,” she said. “That is to allow us to make sure all the infrastructure that has been installed, the hardware and the software is working properly.”
Clementson said this is the final installation and testing of the system. She said drivers will probably not notice a difference after the upgrades, but it helps SANDAG’s operation of the system.
“The equipment gets old,” she said. “You might have read a few months ago that the equipment was old, and it stopped County vehicles for a period. That ended up being over a $1 million loss to the region, so it is important that we have the infrastructure up and running.”
Clementson said they are doing these upgrades “in chunks” with future segments scheduled in the future. The entire project is expected to be completed in late 2022.
The projected cost for the project is between $17 and $18 million.
