91 Express Lanes Snapshot

The 91 Express Lanes is a four-lane, 10-mile toll road built in the median of California's Riverside Freeway (State Route 91) between the Orange/Riverside County line and the Costa Mesa Freeway (State Route 55). The state-of-the-art facility boasts several firsts — the first privately financed toll road in the U.S. in more that 50 years, the world's first fully-automated toll facility, and the first application of value pricing in America.

91 Express Lanes customers pay tolls from pre-paid accounts, using a FasTrak transponder — a pocket-sized radio transmission device mounted to the inside of their vehicle's windshield. This breakthrough electronic toll collection technology eliminates the need to stop and pay tolls at traditional tollbooths, thus ensuring the free flow of traffic on the 91 Express Lanes.

The 91 Express Lanes was born from the need for congestion relief on the 91 Freeway when no public funds were available to solve this critical transportation problem. The concept was unique — the private sector would take the risk and the State would get congestion relief at no cost to taxpayers.

Since the 91 Express Lanes carried its first vehicle on December 27, 1995, this world-class transportation facility has logged more than 64 million vehicle trips, saving customers over 32 million hours of commuting time. These time savings have produced measurable benefits including some $480 million in added economic productivity and quality-of-life benefits for commuters, their families and businesses.

On a wider scale, the 91 Express Lanes has contributed to major advances in the toll industry worldwide. The facility has been featured in the national and international media. Since the project opened in 1995, transportation officials from 21 U.S. states and 23 countries have visited the 91 Express Lanes to study its advanced systems and operations. As a result, much of what the 91 Express Lanes has achieved in technology, toll operations and customer service has been exported around the world.