Samuel Johnson, Chief Executive Officer of the Transportation Corridor Agencies (TCA), has submitted his resignation, to be effective Nov. 25, 2022. He has been on paid administrative leave since Sept. 5, 2022, while TCA conducted an independent investigation into serious allegations of misconduct.

“As soon as we learned of the allegations against Mr. Johnson we took swift action – placing him on leave before the next business day and bringing in an outside firm to conduct a thorough investigation. This investigation included interviews with numerous individuals and reviews of various types of information. Before our Boards could act on the findings of the investigation, Mr. Johnson submitted his resignation,” said the chairs of the TCA’s two agencies, Peggy Huang of the Foothill/Eastern Transportation Corridor Agency and Will O’Neill of the San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor Agency. “The Boards took this matter seriously and acted with urgency,” they added.

“The Transportation Corridor Agencies’ service to the public continues uninterrupted during this transition period,” the chairs said. “We currently have a strong management team and a deeply committed staff that delivers on our promise of reliable, congestion-free transportation alternatives,” they added.

Deputy Chief Executive Officer Valarie McFall, a longtime TCA leader who has been Acting CEO, will continue to lead the organization. “TCA is grateful to Valarie McFall and CFO Amy Potter for their leadership during this period. We will continue to rely on the work of our management team as the Boards now work to determine our next steps to fill the CEO role on a permanent basis,” the chairs added.

Due to confidentiality laws and requirements, no additional information will be provided about this matter.

The Transportation Corridor Agencies (TCA) are two joint powers authorities formed by the California Legislature in 1986 to plan, finance, construct and operate Orange County’s public toll road system comprised of the 73, 133, 241 and 261 Toll Roads.