The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA), who in cooperation with Caltrans and the CHP is the Service Authority for Freeway Emergencies (SAFE), operates Freeway Service Patrols on all Orange County freeways. Direct service is provided by four private towing companies under contract to OCTA. FSP tow trucks assist stranded motorists by making minor repairs or supplying a free gallon of gasoline. If a vehicle cannot be made operable within ten minutes of the tow truck's arriving on the scene, the tow truck driver tows the inoperable vehicle off the freeway. These services reduce freeway congestion and the corresponding emissions of exhaust pollutants.
Prior to implementation of this project, normal FSP service hours were limited to two daily shifts, the first from 5:30 am to 9:30 am, and the second from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm. The shifts operate Monday through Friday on 35 "beats". A beat is comprised of one or more contiguous segments of freeway. In Orange County, one tow truck is assigned to each of the 35 beats per shift.
The total project cost for the mid-day FSP service was $527,130. Of this amount, the MSRC funded 75%, with OCTA providing a local match of 25% of the project total costs.
Beginning on December 1, 2003, OCTA commenced operation of mid-day FSP service. The expanded service was provided between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm Monday through Friday on five (5) beats. The mid-day beats were separately defined from the 35 "peak hour" beats. While the peak hour beats are laid out linearly along freeways, the five mid-day beats were centered on freeway interchanges.
The five interchanges targeted for mid-day FSP service included:
Interchange of I-5 from Katella Ave. to Grand Ave, SR-57 Ball Road to the SR-22/I-5 Interchange and SR-22 from Bristol Street /LaVeta Street to Grand Avenue/Glassell Street;
Interchange of SR-22 from Grand Ave./Glassell Street to the SR-55/SR-22 interchange, I-5 from Newport Avenue to Grand Ave., and SR-55 from McFadden Street to Chapman Ave.;
Interchange of I=5 from Beach Blvd. to Brookhurst and SR-91 from Beach Blvd. to Kraemer/Glassell;
SR-57 from Lincoln Ave. to Orangethorpe Ave. and SR-91 from State College Blvd. to Kraemer/Glassell;
I-405 from Fairview Road to MacArthur Blvd., SR-73 from Fairview Road to Jamboree Road, and SR-55 from MacArthur Blvd to Fair Drive.
OCTA extended contracts with existing tow truck service providers to implement mid-day FSP service. The California Highway Patrol (CHP) supervised the service in the field. Caltrans tracked and reported the number of assists by beat each month.
The objective of this project was to expand the availability of Freeway Service Patrols, introducing mid-day FSP service in select locations.
FSP is currently operating within each County within the South Coast Air Quality Management District. The expansion of FSP service is therefore applicable to all regions within the South Coast AQMD.
Table 2 of the Final Report documented FSP activity as a function of mid-day beat. The period of performance included in the documentation was December 1, 2003 through January, 2006. Over this time period, 10,553 assists were logged. On average, approximately 400 assists were provided each month during the period of performance.
OCTA sucessfully implemented the Mid-day service in cooperation with the CHP and Caltrans. During the MSRC contract period, the mid-day FSP service logged 10,553 assists.
California Highway Patrol, Border Division