Article 4. General Powers And Duties Of The Department Of Transportation of California Streets And Highways Code >> Division 17. >> Chapter 1. >> Article 4.

The department shall have full charge of the acquisition and construction of all toll bridges and other toll highway crossings, transportation facilities, and additional transportation facilities authorized by the commission, the operation and maintenance thereof, and the collection of tolls thereon. The director shall proceed with the construction of the toll bridges and other highway crossings, transportation facilities, and additional transportation facilities immediately upon funds for such work being made available, and shall prosecute the work to completion as rapidly as possible.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, not later than 60 days after the effective date of this section, tolls on state-owned toll bridges shall be based on the number of axles on a vehicle or the total number of axles on a vehicle plus the total number of axles on a drawn trailer or vehicle.

The department, at the time it submits any request, or develops and submits any program, to the California Transportation Commission for capital expenditure or improvement on any toll bridge under the jurisdiction of the California Transportation Commission and located within the region under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, shall transmit a copy of the request or program, as the case may be, to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, which shall review the request or program and transmit its findings and recommendations thereon to the department and the California Transportation Commission for consideration.

Whenever the department offers for sale to the public coupons or commuter ticket books redeemable for the toll on any toll bridge located within the region under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, as specified in Section 66502 of the Government Code, the department shall make the coupons or commuter ticket books available at locations convenient to the public, which shall not be limited to toll bridge facilities, and by mail.

No part of any additional transportation facilities authorized, however, shall be constructed or operated by the commission, or by any person or public or private corporation, within any county or city, unless and until the route thereof within the county or city has been approved by the board of supervisors, city council, or other legislative body thereof, as the case may be, notwithstanding any other provision in this chapter.

The department, through its own engineers or through such other engineers or experts as it may employ, shall design all bridges, transportation facilities, and additional transportation facilities to be built pursuant to this chapter, and may build them or any portions of them either by its own employees or by contract with any person. The cost of any or all such bridges, transportation facilities, and additional transportation facilities shall be paid from the proceeds of bonds issued and sold pursuant to this chapter, or from contributions or appropriations from other sources as provided in this chapter.

All such bridges, transportation facilities, and additional transportation facilities or portion thereof shall be built by the department in accordance with The State Contract Act insofar as the provisions of that act are applicable, except that the amount of the cash, bidders' bonds, or certified checks required to accompany any bid submitted, when bids relating to the construction of any bridge or highway crossing, transportation facilities, or additional transportation facilities are called for, shall be fixed and determined by the department.

The department shall require of each contractor such bonds for the faithful performance of any contract or subcontract entered into pursuant to this chapter and for the payment for any labor, materials, or supplies used in, upon, for or about the performance of the work contracted to be done, fixing such terms and conditions, and in such amounts, as it deems to be for the best interests of the State. Money realized on any such bonds shall be paid into the acquisition and construction fund of the particular toll bridge or other highway crossing involved.

The commission may authorize the department to acquire or construct tubes, tunnels, subways, underpasses, or overpasses either in connection with bridges or as separate highway crossings whenever the department deems such acquisition or construction advisable. All of the provisions of this chapter shall be fully applicable to the tubes, tunnels, subways, underpasses, or overpasses, the acquisition and construction of which is so authorized, and they shall be included within the word "bridge."

The department may designate and adopt as a state highway any county road or portion thereof connecting a state highway with a publicly owned bridge or publicly owned toll bridge.

The commission and the department shall keep full, complete, and separate accounts of each toll bridge or other crossing, and annually shall prepare balance sheets and income and profit and loss statements showing the financial condition of each toll bridge or other highway crossing. The statements shall be open to the inspection of holders of bonds issued by the commission at all reasonable times.

The department may issue permits for the use of any toll bridge or other toll highway crossing acquired or constructed pursuant to this chapter on a credit basis. Except in the case of municipal or other public corporations, governmental agencies, or common carriers having contracts directly with the commission for the operation of the transportation facilities of the bridge or crossing, and except as provided in Section 30161.5, the department shall require the holder of a permit for the use of any toll bridge or other toll highway crossing on a credit basis to furnish and maintain in force a bond executed by an admitted surety insurer, approved by the department, in an amount equal to twice the department's estimate of the toll charges to be incurred under the permit during one month.

The department may revoke any permit granted for failure of the holder to comply with its terms.

The department may also require the holder of any such permit to pay a fee of not to exceed seven dollars ($7) a month and, in addition thereto, such other fee for each individual credit transaction which, when combined with the monthly fee, will cover the estimated printing and other overhead expense, the proceeds thereof to be deposited in the fund from which such expenses are paid.

When necessary to facilitate movement of traffic, the department may limit the use of any toll bridge or other toll highway crossing on a credit basis to particular classes of vehicles.

(a) For any bridge at which an automatic vehicle identification system, as described in this section, has been installed and is in operation, the department may waive the requirement that the holder of a credit permit furnish and maintain a surety bond. The automatic vehicle identification system shall have the capability of identifying each vehicle operating under the permit and of tabulating the number of bridge crossings by those vehicles. This section does not affect the authority of the department under Section 30796.8.
  (b) The department shall notify the Legislature of the date upon which it commences operation of the system described in subdivision (a) on any bridge other than the bridge described in Section 30796.
  (c) This section shall become inoperative five years from the date specified by the department pursuant to subdivision (b), and as of January 1 next following that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, which becomes effective on or before that January 1, deletes or extends that date.

If the department is unable to collect any tolls due to insolvency of the obligor, or if the cost of collection of any tolls would be excessive by reason of the smallness of the amount due, the department may apply to the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board for discharge from accountability for the collection thereof in the manner provided in Sections 13940 to 13943, inclusive, of the Government Code.