Written by William Hale
Faulty toll equipment has recently been discovered on State Route 125. A report to the San Diego Association of Government’s (SANDAG) Independent Performance Auditor’s office detailed that four of the 42 stations along Route 125 — which runs from Otay Mesa near the U.S.–Mexico border to the Santee area — were disconnected over a three month period.
Independent auditor Mary Khoshmashrab said that “It wasn’t that just, they got unplugged. It was that they got unplugged and they went unnoticed as far as the revenue impact of that…Which means there was a procedure missing that should have been there, which is to review reports on a daily basis.”
It is estimated that these dysfunctional toll stations have cost SANDAG around $1.8 million in revenue, a significant loss considering that the agency is already $180 million in debt that isn’t expected to be paid off until 2042. However, it appears that the South Bay Expressway’s system failure shouldn’t necessarily come as a surprise. According to SANDAG’s Chief Economist Ray Major, certain aspects of the toll system have needed replacement since 2007.
In addition to Major’s claims, CEO Hasan Ikhrata suggested that this revenue loss could have been prevented if former SANDAG staff who had known about the issue reported on it earlier. This isn’t the only story involving Ikhrata in the past month. The SANDAG CEO was found to be guilty of using taxpayer money on lavish dinners after an internal audit conducted from July 2017 to June 2021. Various San Diego leaders including Coronado Mayor Richard Bailey have proposed that Ikhrata step down from his CEO position at SANDAG.
In regard to the $1.8 million lost, Ikhrata said “I take full responsibility for any screwup like this.”
It will be interesting to see what the next step is for SANDAG, but Major reportedly said that SANDAG will soon bring on a consultant to review the agency’s toll procedures.
Photo Cred: aaroads.com
